tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11132451385380381042024-03-13T16:40:59.377-04:00Loving My Life As A Mother and a WifeBronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-65057824630202090222010-06-18T00:48:00.002-04:002010-06-18T09:14:39.587-04:00Fourteen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/031-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="16" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/031-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This silly guy turned 14 on Tuesday! I am still not sure that I am okay with that. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. I remember a 3lb. 15 inch long baby boy lying in an incubator letting everyone know that he intended to fight for his life. And then there was a 3 year old who knew just about every line of every Blue's Clues episode and recited them all day long. And I will never forget the adorable little 5 year old who was the smallest kid in Kindergarten and also the best reader. I smile when I think of a 7 year old I knew that when he started homeschool would walk with me everyday and talk of all the pebbles he would throw in the river along the way. I treasure the thoughts of a boy who even at 9 loved to bake with me and still cuddled up for stories. Even 11 seems like yesterday with a child who could ride his bike up and down the street seemingly forever. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How did time go so fast? It is so bittersweet. I miss my little boy but am proud of the young man he has become. He is smart and interesting and a lot of fun to be around. He is energetic and enthusiastic. He is also kindhearted and loveable. He has overcome a lot of obstacles in his 14 years and has shown us what it means to be strong. He loves football, music, and a certain floppy eared dog. He loves a good story and a happy ending. He likes to bounce on the trampoline or walk on his treadmill. He loves to work with numbers. He likes to go to concerts with his Dad and beat his mom at Monopoly. He is a super person!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We celebrated his birthday over the last two weeks. It was low key which is the way he likes it. Last week my parents came down to visit and he spent some time with them. He got to go eat a special birthday meal with them at a restaurant that Elvis once ate at. He likes Elvis so it was kind of thrilling for him. On his actual birthday we ordered out pizza and then he had ice cream sandwiches instead of cake. He doesn't like cake! He got some video games, cds, and a NFL quilt and sham as presents. I think he enjoyed it all.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So now he is 14 and there is no sign of him slowing down on this whole growing up thing. What's a mom to do but look into the eyes of a young man and know in her heart he will always be her baby boy and, of course, wish him a big happy birthday!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy Birthday Tyler!</span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-61838451806927446592010-06-12T00:36:00.001-04:002010-06-12T00:42:32.312-04:00Our Backyard "Bard"<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Well, I wanted more nature study here and God answered in a wonderful way!</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/Owl1Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="16" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/Owl1Pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is dark in the picture because it was taken at sunset and we didn't want to scare him with a flash.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thursday night I was loading the dishwasher when I glanced out my kitchen window. We have a woods behind our house that is maybe 20 or 30 feet away. I like to look out and <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">watch</span> the birds and the squirrels but it just so happens that on this particular time someone was looking back at me. Sitting atop the fence about 8 feet from my window was a beautiful and very large owl. I was so excited. I tried to get to my camera and call Tim to see but in all the commotion he flew off. Tim was able to catch a glimpse of him and thought he was the great horned owl.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tonight we were waiting anxiously to see if he would come back. He did!!!! He didn't come back to our fence but he perched out on the telephone wire for a long time. We watched him wait for prey and then swoop down when he thought he saw something. I tried to take a picture with my camera which didn't work out very well. Tim got the idea to try the camcorder and we were much more successful with that.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We now know that he is not a great horned owl but a barred owl after getting a much better look at him. He is about 2 feet tall and has a wing span that looks to be around 3 feet. He is amazing! That is probably a huge understatement. We are so thrilled that he has chosen our backyard as his hunting grounds.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We really wanted to give him a name. Tim thought maybe Owliver and then Tyler noted that since he is a "barred" owl we should name him after the "bard" he has been studying. So... we are now calling him Shakespeare. Corny I know but we kind of like it. We are hoping to continue to see him at sundown as we have the last couple of nights.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So here he is: </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IZ1gs2l7mao&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IZ1gs2l7mao&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please excuse my video editing. I put together the clips as best as I could and I had to get rid of all our background house noise like our dog eating so that is why I have replaced it with music. I still think he is incredible to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">watch</span>.</span></div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-63811824105576776622010-06-10T01:47:00.001-04:002010-06-10T01:48:40.071-04:00ShakespeareTyler loves Shakespeare! I want to jump up and down and say that over and over again! I did NOT like learning about Shakespeare when I was in school. It was hard to read the Old English and we had to memorize huge boring sections of his plays. I wanted to teach Tyler Shakespeare without having him dread it like I did. I thought maybe if I worked really hard at it he might not hate it. I had no clue just how much he would take to it. :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/Assets/ProductImages/1268Shakespeare.tif" imageanchor="1" linkindex="24" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/Assets/ProductImages/1268Shakespeare.tif" width="145" /></a></div>We have been enjoying a lot of resources in our study of the bard. I knew we needed to do a lapbook because he has been retaining so much more every time we use one to organize what he has learned. I chose the <a href="http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/William-Shakespeare-Project-Pack-P1269.aspx" linkindex="25">project pack and lapbook from Hands of a Child</a>.<br />
I am really loving how this particular lapbook is suited to his age level. I also like the creative writing assignments it contains. One was to write a sonnet which was rather cute because he wrote it for our Lucy.<br />
<br />
A really terrific book we have been using to learn more about the life of Shakespeare is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Kids-Life-Times-Activities/dp/1556523475/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header" linkindex="26">Shakespeare for Kids</a>. This book does a great job of covering his life and also has a bunch of terrific activities.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e0/5e/db946230a8a0c1c16dbff010.L._AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="27" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e0/5e/db946230a8a0c1c16dbff010.L._AA300_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
I have chosen not to read the individual plays in the written language right now as I knew that create a lot of frustration for Tyler at this point. We have been reading some adapted versions in story form though and I feel he is getting a lot out of them. We are using the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_at_ep_srch/178-5915401-9889111?ie=UTF8&search-alias=books&field-author=Lois+Burdett&sort=relevancerank" linkindex="28">Shakespeare Can Be Fun! series</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Shakespeare-Charles-Lamb/dp/0810994534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276144945&sr=1-1" linkindex="29">Tales From Shakespeare</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Shakespeare-Edith-Nesbit/dp/089733485X/ref=pd_sim_b_12" linkindex="30">The Children's Shakespeare</a>.<br />
Hamlet is by far his favorite so far. He calls it the play in which everyone dies at the end and he really loves to pretend to play King Hamlet's ghost. We are also reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Stealer-Gary-Blackwood/dp/0525473203/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276145259&sr=1-3" linkindex="31">The Shakespeare Stealer Series</a> which is a fiction series but has a lot of history integrated into it. These books are great and both Tyler and I would recommend them.<br />
<br />
As we read through the plays I have been having him notebook on the different characters and some of the plots. He has been coloring some pages in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Scenes-Shakespeares-Plays-Green/dp/0486409600/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276145517&sr=1-2" linkindex="32">The Dover Scenes From Shakespeare coloring book </a>to go with the notebooking too.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>As added fun and some exposure to the original language of the plays Shakespeare wrote we have been enjoying a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Globe-Interactive-Pop-up-Theatre/dp/0763626945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276145659&sr=1-1" linkindex="33">beautiful pop up version of the globe theater</a>. This I believe has been Tyler's favorite part. This book is so beautiful to look at.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/042-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="34" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/042-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/055-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="35" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/055-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The book pops open to show the inside of the globe theater.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/056-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="36" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/056-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are several punch out characters for each play.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/046-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="37" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/046-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are two scripts with scenes from the plays to act out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/060-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="38" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/060-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You slip the characters through holes on the sides of the stage and then read your lines.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I knew that I also wanted him to do some memorization work but I didn't want to have it be as boring as I had felt it was when I was in school. I made him a booklet and I am letting him pick two quotes for each play in the book. The book is actually just a couple of file folders I put together but he likes it a lot. I am thinking of making a certificate for him when he finishes it. I was going to put on it something like he had completed his apprenticeship and now he is a player in Shakespeare's theater company.<br />
Here are the pictures of our memorization booklet.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/005-36.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="39" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/005-36.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/006-38.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="40" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/006-38.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/009-33.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="41" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/009-33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here is the download for our book if you would like it too.<br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/31462857/Shakespeare-Quote-Memorization-Book" linkindex="42" style="display: block; font: 14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; margin: 12px auto 6px; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Shakespeare Quote Memorization Book on Scribd">Shakespeare Quote Memorization Book</a> <object data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" height="400" id="doc_511463421103352" name="doc_511463421103352" rel="media:document" resource="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=31462857&access_key=key-95urz45oy16jbz10ikd&page=1&viewMode=list" style="outline: medium none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="80%" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/searchmonkey/media/"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=31462857&access_key=key-95urz45oy16jbz10ikd&page=1&viewMode=list"><embed id="doc_511463421103352" name="doc_511463421103352" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=31462857&access_key=key-95urz45oy16jbz10ikd&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="400" width="80%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw7BuD4moM8RGNeWkE6eXnUGApWwB8gz1wm5nw4JjlUTZ766kLx4Z94Ing3UQvo0smN5RjC3krg40iX-5AWtQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>It has been fun to watch Tyler recite his quotes. He has an awful English accent but he does a great job at his memorization. Hope you enjoy this one from Hamlet!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-54105114173767755202010-06-04T01:17:00.000-04:002010-06-04T01:17:06.874-04:00Summer SchoolToday was our last day of school for this school year...sort of. We actually homeschool year round but we are taking a small break for about two weeks because my parents are coming to visit for a week and then we need about a week after that to get everyone back on track. Christians schedule is pretty much the same every day whatever time of the year it is as working with him is a constant. Tyler's schedule will be slightly different during the summer as there are a couple of areas I want to cover with more intensity and other subjects that I know he is doing great on and can take a small break from. Tyler has been studying Shakespeare for the last couple of weeks and absolutely loves it. Who knew?! That really deserves a post of it's own though because we have done a lot and hope to do much more after our break. Along with studying Shakespeare I also wanted to do<a href="http://www.christianbook.com/creation-geology-guide-fossils-formations-flood/9781931941099/pd/941092" linkindex="249"> Creation Geology from Media Angels </a>with him. I have had the curriculum for this for quite some time and it is one of those things that always gets put off and so I am determined to cover it this summer. It is also nice because it covers the flood and fossils which coincides with the history we will be doing in the fall. The other thing I will be working on with Tyler this summer is his writing. I have been teaching him some outlining skills and that has allowed him to start constructing better paragraphs but he could definitely use more practice. He can narrate well what he has learned but has a hard time organizing it into a more organized format when he writes it out. The final thing I want to focus on with both of my boys this summer is something I feel we have been neglecting. I have been longing to do nature studies for forever but unfortunately that is another area that often gets pushed aside. I have been reading the <a href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/" linkindex="250">Handbook of Nature Study blog </a><span id="goog_373235904">for awhile now and so I finally decided that we would try out one of her Outdoor Hour Challenge ebooks. I downloaded the summer one today and it looks great and adaptable to fit both kids. I like the fact that it doesn't look so time consuming that we are likely not to do it. I already have<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Nature-Study-Botsford-Comstock/dp/0801493846/ref=tmm_pap_title_0" linkindex="251"> The Handbook of Nature Study by A. Comstock</a> in the house so that helps too. </span><br />
<span id="goog_373235904">So that is the plan here for summer school. Tim is still recovering from foot surgery but we are also hoping and praying that he will be able to get around a little better soon and we can spend some time at the beach. Christian especially enjoys the beach! I would also like to do more geocaching this summer. All that will have to wait though until Tim is able to do more walking. Family outings here go much more smoothly with two parents. </span><span id="goog_373235904">:) </span><br />
<span id="goog_373235904"> I hope everyone whether taking a summer break or homeschooling straight through has a wonderful summer!</span><br />
<span id="goog_373235904"><br />
</span>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-72315125390792049532010-06-01T10:03:00.002-04:002010-06-01T10:06:59.259-04:00Memorial Day Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/020-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="44" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/020-24.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day! We had a relaxed weekend at home. Tim had foot surgery a couple of weeks ago and is still healing so we are unable to do anything too strenuous. We had loads of sunshine, a beautiful breeze, temps in the 80's and it so it was really very nice here. Tim was able to grill steaks and hot dogs much to his pleasure and everyone else too. The boys played on the trampoline and the swings. Lucy soaked in all the attention of everyone being home. I cherished the time to watch the birds and squirrels play by the feeders that Tim gave to me for Mothers Day, to stare at the blossoms on the tree out my front window, to bake tons of chocolate chip cookies, and most of all to enjoy the family God has so graciously allowed me to be part of. Though flawed as it is I am still so grateful to remember that I live in this country that I love. I am without words to express my appreciation for the sacrifices that have been made so that I can enjoy the freedoms I do!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/treeflowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="45" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/treeflowers.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/086.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="46" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/086.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/088.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="47" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/088.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/038-6-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="48" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/038-6-1.jpg" width="272" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/036-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="49" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/036-9.jpg" width="298" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/045-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="50" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/045-3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/020-Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="51" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/020-Copy.jpg" width="340" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/019-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="52" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/019-25.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/074-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="53" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/074-1-1.jpg" width="272" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/072-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="54" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/072-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/053copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="55" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/053copy.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/040-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="56" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/040-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/076-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="57" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/076-1.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/043-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="58" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/043-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Pictures from our Memorial Day (in no particular order) :)Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-37066469345388610882010-05-11T08:35:00.002-04:002010-05-11T08:35:52.483-04:00Jesus Rap<object height="525" width="660"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WUQYJ77qa50&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WUQYJ77qa50&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="660" height="525"></embed></object>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-69792315361729025352010-05-04T11:26:00.002-04:002010-05-04T11:28:54.241-04:00Casting Crowns ConcertTim and Tyler went to see Caleb Chapman, Tenth Avenue North, and Casting Crowns a little over a week ago. I meant to get the pictures up here earlier but with Christian and his ear I am a <strike>little</strike> whole lot behind.<br />
Before I show you the pictures I wanted to share a little about how I feel about Casting Crowns. I don't think I have ever shared this story here before but if I have I'm sorry for repeating!<br />
In 2008 Tim was deployed to Afghanistan for 9 months. He was due to return home in November and towards the end of September we began to plan his homecoming. We ordered our banner and planned to have his favorite foods and such but I knew how hard it had been for him to be away for us that long and I also wanted to do something special for him. Because of our family situation big parties and vacations are just not an option. Tyler and I had found out that Casting Crowns, Tim's favorite band, was coming out with a Christmas CD and so I ordered that for him and it got me to thinking. I looked up their tour dates and sure enough just a couple weeks after he was to return home they were playing a couple of hours from here. I deliberated back and forth on weather we could all attend the concert but in the end decided it would be way too much for Christian. I was able to reserve two seats in the third row and I figured Tyler and Tim could go together and have a good father and son time. I sat there thinking a little more after I got the tickets and wondered if just maybe I could make it a little more special. I knew that sometimes musicians esp. christian artists are willing to give a shout out at concerts for special occasions. So... I worked up a little nerve and went over to Casting Crowns website and found the email address for Mark Hall, the lead singer. I wrote and told him my story of how great my hubby is and what a big fan he is and how he was coming back from Afghanistan etc. I didn't really think I would get a response but I was hopeful that maybe I would. Well, about two weeks later I did actually get a response. I got an email from Susan Dose the band's assistant and she said that Mark had read my email. I was taken a bit back there she hadn't read my email but Mark had read my email. She said that the band didn't do shout outs during their concerts but they could give him two meet and greet passes. I was sooooo excited! I knew it would mean a lot to Tim to meet Mark Hall, someone whom he has so much respect for. Incidentally this concert also featured a lot of other artists who Tim and Tyler got to meet too. There was Natalie Grant, Avalon, Michael English, PureNRG, and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. They had a wonderful time and were so impressed with how nice everyone was. On a funny note both Tim and Tyler were both to shy to ask to get their pictures taken with anyone. They did however get me a shirt at the concert and had everyone sign it. I still wish they had gotten pictures. :(<br />
So that's my great Casting Crowns story. I love that they gave my hubby such a special time! They are the real deal and hold a special place in our hearts.<br />
Now when they come to our area we of course have to get tickets so Tim and Tyler went to see them again this last week. No passes this time-just the concert but they still had a wonderful time.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-AwwK9r3II/AAAAAAAAAYM/eTtOoPOchhA/s1600/Crowns+Concert+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="26" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-AwwK9r3II/AAAAAAAAAYM/eTtOoPOchhA/s640/Crowns+Concert+002.JPG" width="532" /></a></div>The concert opened with Caleb, Stephen Curtis Chapman's son. This is a picture of Will and Caleb Chapman. Tyler was greatly impressed with these two.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-Axdn9-97I/AAAAAAAAAYU/4fImhhGMuNs/s1600/Crowns+Concert+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="27" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-Axdn9-97I/AAAAAAAAAYU/4fImhhGMuNs/s640/Crowns+Concert+008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>The second performance was Tenth Avenue North.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A1lWSCt3I/AAAAAAAAAYc/zX3XCng_fwo/s1600/Crowns+Concert+009+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="28" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A1lWSCt3I/AAAAAAAAAYc/zX3XCng_fwo/s640/Crowns+Concert+009+copy.jpg" width="388" /></a></div>And last but surely not least was Casting Crowns.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A2-DdPgDI/AAAAAAAAAYk/9uXdKY0jc-U/s1600/Crowns+Concert+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="29" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A2-DdPgDI/AAAAAAAAAYk/9uXdKY0jc-U/s640/Crowns+Concert+036.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A3zuVCBfI/AAAAAAAAAYs/Zi8hpc2VRM8/s1600/Crowns+Concert+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="30" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A3zuVCBfI/AAAAAAAAAYs/Zi8hpc2VRM8/s640/Crowns+Concert+033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>World Vision was there too. Tim didn't get a picture of them though. :) We did sign up to sponsor a adorable little girl in Tanzania. I am already so in love with this little face.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A7Cd2mTVI/AAAAAAAAAY0/OTLyhsvPvW8/s1600/Worl+Vision.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="31" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S-A7Cd2mTVI/AAAAAAAAAY0/OTLyhsvPvW8/s320/Worl+Vision.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We already sponsor a girl in India through Compassion and so we decided to go with Africa. She is three and just too cute. Don't you think? The problem for me is that we started sponsoring our Compassion child when she was already 10 and so I am not sure what we are to write to a three year old or if we should mostly send pictures and drawings from the kids. I would love suggestions if anybody has sponsored a younger child. I am sure we are going to love getting to know her!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-35469084490294313162010-05-02T23:09:00.000-04:002010-05-02T23:09:51.315-04:00What to do in the heatI spoke too soon! I have been raving about what a beautiful spring we are having. Usually we go from winter to super hot summer but lately we have been enjoying the most spectacular spring days with temperatures in the low to mid 70's. Well, it had to end sometime I suppose. Today it chose to bake us in the hot Carolina sun. I believe the actual temp was 87! There are only so many things you actually feel like doing when it is hot and humid outside. Tyler has been really good all week as his schedule was a mess because of the time spent at the hospital with Christian. So it was a nice day for him to get out and play on the water slide.<br />
It was a hard decision to make because Christian loves the water too and he can't get wet right now because his stitches in his ear are supposed to stay dry. I felt really bad for him as watched out the window as the water slide was set up. I stayed inside with him and we watched lots of Veggie Tales together. We watched King George and the Ducky twice because that is his favorite. We also ordered from Papa Johns tonight which is a big treat here because we almost never do fast food. I know he would have rather been outside but I think we had fun together anyhow.<br />
Tyler really needed to wear off some of his boundless energy. We have done a lot of sitting and waiting this week. Sitting and waiting are tough on him. He played on the slide for a couple of hours.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S947tzQBjiI/AAAAAAAAAXk/SNu-a0soi68/s1600/Tyler+water+slide+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="262" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S947tzQBjiI/AAAAAAAAAXk/SNu-a0soi68/s640/Tyler+water+slide+005.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S948Lx-a64I/AAAAAAAAAXs/BA-IfYqm18s/s1600/Tyler+water+slide+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="263" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S948Lx-a64I/AAAAAAAAAXs/BA-IfYqm18s/s640/Tyler+water+slide+006.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S948iWciyMI/AAAAAAAAAX0/MX9FwGJ1cYs/s1600/Tyler+water+slide+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="264" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S948iWciyMI/AAAAAAAAAX0/MX9FwGJ1cYs/s640/Tyler+water+slide+001.JPG" width="480" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S948zlMHckI/AAAAAAAAAX8/YJ6xzl3g5g4/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="265" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S948zlMHckI/AAAAAAAAAX8/YJ6xzl3g5g4/s640/007.JPG" width="480" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S949CnID5ZI/AAAAAAAAAYE/Bd_fbac6zno/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="266" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S949CnID5ZI/AAAAAAAAAYE/Bd_fbac6zno/s640/006.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>He really needed that! He fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. I can't wait until Christian's ear heals and he can get some water slide time too!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-50368137302240833752010-04-29T17:18:00.000-04:002010-04-29T17:18:22.235-04:00Thank you for your prayers!Thank you so much for praying for Christian. We just got home from the hospital. Christian did well and everyone there was wonderful to him. He is super out of it still from the anesthesia. He walked in the house laid down on the couch and went back to sleep. The surgeon who repaired his ear is also a ear, nose and throat specialist. He did a great job on his ear and also did a complete exam on his ears, nose, and throat while he was asleep. That was nice because it is impossible for doctors to do much when he is awake. He is concerned about one of his eardrums so he is going to put him under again in a couple of months and check that again. It looks might he might have some scarring although we don't know from what. He isn't one to poke anything in his ears. His ear looks really good where they did the stitches today. He doesn't seem interested in it either which is great. The put in stitches that will dissolve so they won't have to take them back out. I am real happy about that. They also put him on antibiotics to speed up the healing and Tylenol with codeine for any pain he might have. I don't think he is much pain but it is nice if he needs it. I am so tired from 9 hours at the hospital today after 3 hours there last night. I really hope this makes sense. <br />
I just wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciated your prayers today. It went a lot better than I thought I would and I know that was definitely a God thing! Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-6325263343139662812010-04-29T01:14:00.000-04:002010-04-29T01:14:25.323-04:00Please Pray for ChristianThis is going to be very brief as I am exhausted. Christian fell tonight in the bathroom and cut his ear pretty bad. We spent three hours in the ER. It has stopped bleeding now but because it is cut straight through the cartlidge they want to put in stitches in the morning. Because of his autism they are going to have to put him under to put in the stitches. We have to be back at the hospital at 6:30 am and he is all wound up still from the experience. If you read this yet tonight or tomorrow morning could you please pray for us. I know he will be fine but it is still going to be very hard on him. Thank you!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-67080345668121391222010-04-26T14:00:00.002-04:002010-04-26T23:51:04.651-04:00A Wedding!We had a very special wedding in our family last week! It was a wedding that symbolized forgiveness and lasting love. It symbolizes the kind of love that looks beyond past hurts. It is the kind of love that binds two people together even when things get really tough.<br />
The special couple that got married last week have known each other since they were children which in this case is a very long time. The bride is 79 years old and the groom is 83. This wedding represents a second chance for them as they were married once before. In 1949 this twosome ran off to elope. She was Lutheran and he was Catholic and they could not be married in church. So they drove to another state to be wed and he sang to her along the way.<br />
This young couple raised up a family of seven children. They worked hard and sacrificed to give their family the best. However as happens to so many couples along the way they made mistakes and there was a lot of hurt. Long after their children had grown and they had many grandchildren this couple was left with each other. Sometimes in the midst of past hurts people feel as though there can be no healing and no future. In 1993, the once young and hopeful bride felt she had come to that place and they were divorced.<br />
God works in mysterious ways however and sometimes he works through great pain to bring us to a place where we realize that our love for someone is stronger than our hurt and our anger. About three and a half years ago our groom was in serious condition. He had a clogged artery which was causing him to have strokes. His doctor had tried several operations but was unable to complete them because the patient wasn't strong enough. Our groom is the type of man who has been young and strong and struggles greatly with being old and weak. His once young bride looked upon him with love and knew he needed someone to help him and care for him. God graciously granted this couple a second chance when he finally allowed the surgery to succeed. He has been given another opportunity to love a women who through her forgiveness has come back to unselfishly devote herself to his care.<br />
I learned of this wedding to be only shortly before it happened and I was unable to attend because I must be here with my boys and they live faraway. I am no less blessed by it however as these are two people I love very much. I am grateful for this renewal of their devotion to one another. I know it is something they almost didn't have. I am thrilled they have each other to love until they pass from this earth. I thank God for their story and for his wonderful gift to me- <span style="font-size: large;">my grandparents</span>!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding4.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="22" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> These are the pictures from last week as they were rewed in their home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding5.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="23" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding5.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding6.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="24" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding8.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="25" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/GrandmaandGrandpawedding8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-53776844785446931852010-04-25T14:27:00.000-04:002010-04-25T14:27:10.161-04:00All Glory, Laud, and Honor- Our First Hymn Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We have started hymn studies in our homeschool. My boys both have a big appreciation for music. Last year Tyler's Bible curriculum had a hymn component included but this year we were really missing that. I had read <a href="http://jimmiescollage.com/2010/04/beginning-hymn-study/" linkindex="130">this post</a> over at Jimmie's Collage and thought that something similar would work really well for us.<br />
Since we had just celebrated Easter I thought we would start with the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Hymns-Kids-Heart-Vol/dp/1581346654" linkindex="131">Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart</a>. All the books in the Hymns for Kid's books are great and include the CDs with them too.<br />
We have been using these great<a href="http://jimmiescollage.com/downloads/music/Hymn-Study-Notebooking-Pages.pdf" linkindex="132"> notebooking pages</a> from Jimmie of Jimmie's Collage to explore the vocabulary and verses that go along with our hymn. I made our own notebooking pages also to explore the biography of the hymn author and for Tyler to write the lyrics out for copywork. We are using the books Then Sings My Soul and Then Sings My Soul Book 2 for the stories of the hymn writers. These are fascinating books and the stories of the hymn writers are truly inspiring. We are storing all of our hymn sheets in a three ring binder.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9SHoO8qw_I/AAAAAAAAAWU/JUmpM0c6PcE/s1600/hymn+studies+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="132" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9SHoO8qw_I/AAAAAAAAAWU/JUmpM0c6PcE/s400/hymn+studies+003.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9SH77YbZeI/AAAAAAAAAWc/5nDetIT7Ucc/s1600/hymn+studies+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="133" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9SH77YbZeI/AAAAAAAAAWc/5nDetIT7Ucc/s400/hymn+studies+004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The first hymn in the book is All Glory, Laud, and Honor. It is a beautiful hymn about Palm Sunday. It was written by Theodulph, bishop of Orleans. He wrote this text around 820 while he was imprisoned at Angers, France, for conspiring against King Louis the Pious. Based on Matthew 21:1-11 (and similar passages in Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12), the text was originally written for a Palm Sunday procession. We love this hymn and look forward to studying another hymn next week.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9R2YmPBW6I/AAAAAAAAAWM/N-rychJ0dE8/s1600/palm+sunday.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="134" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9R2YmPBW6I/AAAAAAAAAWM/N-rychJ0dE8/s320/palm+sunday.jpg" /></a></div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-81540585500822934922010-04-23T17:02:00.000-04:002010-04-23T17:02:39.674-04:00Mini Lime Cheesecakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9HtYI06n7I/AAAAAAAAAV8/8EGw0OMGAIM/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="529" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9HtYI06n7I/AAAAAAAAAV8/8EGw0OMGAIM/s640/011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I originally made these for St. Patrick's Day because they are so cute and green. We called them little Leprechaun Pies. :) They are wonderful anytime however and would be great for a spring or summer treat. They are super easy to make!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mini Lime Cheesecakes</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ingrediants:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 packages of 6 Mini Graham Crackers Ready Crusts</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 beaten egg whites</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1- eight ounce package of cream cheese softened</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">green food coloring</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1- six ounce can Minute Maid frozen limeade concentrate</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;">Directions:</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">1. Preheat oven to 375</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">2. Brush the crusts with the beaten egg white and place on a cookie sheet. Bake crusts for 5 minutes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">3. Beat the cream cheese until soft in a medium bowl.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">4. Add the condensed milk and beat until light and fluffy.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">5. Add the limeade and beat until smooth. Stir in the food color until you have a nice shade of green.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">6. Evenly fill the pie shells.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">7. Place the pies on the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 1 hour. Serve chilled. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">These are one of my husbands faves. Hope you enjoy them!</span> </span></span> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> </span> </div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-86460927737290441612010-04-23T12:19:00.002-04:002010-04-23T18:19:34.689-04:00Unexpected Lessons Learned in our Study of RussiaWe have been studying Russia here and have been really enjoying it. It has been a long study as there is much to learn. Russia has always intrigued me. They have such amazing architecture, beautiful art, and powerful music. My favorite thing about Russia,however, has always been the literature written there. I love to read Tolstoy and the older authors but I am equally taken with new writers like Boris Akunin. I appreciate the complexity of the characters in Russian stories. They are often formed through the combination of great hardships and strong spirits that yearn not only to survive but to find beauty in life. When we started our study I was really anxious to share this with Tyler.<br />
He had a great time listening to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375824308/ref=wms_ohs_product" linkindex="405">Peter and the Wolf</a> and making<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LTEVUK/ref=wms_ohs_product" linkindex="406"> matryoshka dolls </a>to go with the story.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9G72Le8TjI/AAAAAAAAAVc/q0y5xuCgLWY/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="407" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9G72Le8TjI/AAAAAAAAAVc/q0y5xuCgLWY/s400/035.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9G8E0mwy4I/AAAAAAAAAVk/yX0xx6wkp_M/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="408" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9G8E0mwy4I/AAAAAAAAAVk/yX0xx6wkp_M/s400/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> We have used several really great resource books along with our study. The first is<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_688329753" linkindex="409">Russia (Enchantment of the World. Second Series).</a></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0516224948/ref=wms_ohs_product" imageanchor="1" linkindex="410" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YM9CVAB3L._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"> The second is<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UF7I72/ref=wms_ohs_product" linkindex="411"> Eyewitness Books Russia.</a></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Z9VLUqdfL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="412" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Z9VLUqdfL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We also used the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0794510019/ref=wms_ohs_product" linkindex="413">Usborne book First Thousand Words in Russian</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511pq7q4VaL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="414" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511pq7q4VaL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Incidentally Christian was really taken with this last book.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9G_r24a6hI/AAAAAAAAAVs/e9Z6sKM7Phw/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="415" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9G_r24a6hI/AAAAAAAAAVs/e9Z6sKM7Phw/s400/025.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>This got me to thinking maybe he doesn't talk because we are trying to teach him English and he wants Russian. <a href="http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZKfox000" linkindex="416" target="_blank"><img alt="Winky" border="0" src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/11/11_4_124v.gif" /></a><br />
Tyler has been doing lots of notebooking and map work to go along with our study as well. We found some great printables at<a href="http://www.homeschoolshare.com/fool_of_the_world.php" linkindex="417"> homeschoolshare</a>. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9HBTFCrG1I/AAAAAAAAAV0/3fMtJQ22gUM/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" linkindex="418" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S9HBTFCrG1I/AAAAAAAAAV0/3fMtJQ22gUM/s400/065.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>By far our favorite part of this whole unit has been our read aloud of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064408795/ref=wms_ohs_product" linkindex="419">Angel on the Square.</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Square-Gloria-Whelan/dp/0060290307" linkindex="420"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/0/9780064408790.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><br />
It is a historical fiction story that takes place in the years between 1913 to 1918. This is the time of the reign of the last czar of Russia. Katya, the girl in the story, is the daughter of the lady in waiting to the empress and therefore lives with the czar and his family which allows the reader to see not only the rule of the czar but his tender interactions with his family.<br />
Tyler likes to label characters in his mind as the good guy or the bad guy. There is not a lot of room for in betweens in Tyler's autistic world. As we read through this story he was confused as to how to categorize the characters as many of them had complex relationships and made varying decisions. He at first decided the Czar must be a good man because he loved his family and treated them well and was applauded when he rode through the streets. Later when he found out some of the injustices he allowed he decided he must be the bad guy. Only to change his mind again when he was exiled to Siberia and he felt sorry for him. It was great to see Tyler attempt to reason this through. There was another character Misha, who is a college student and a revolutionary. Tyler was at first disgusted that he would be so opposed to following the rules. He then liked him when he found out he wanted to help the poor. Katya in the story is confused like Tyler and doesn't know how to feel about the people around her either. This helped Tyler to see that he wasn't alone in his feelings. He was able to understand in the end that it was okay just to take it all in and understand they were all humans that made good and bad decisions. Understanding the people in the story didn't require us to label them.<br />
I really like the unexpected lesson this story and our study of Russia and all it's interesting figures has brought about. It shows me that he is starting to develop more complex thinking. It shows me that there is room for learning beyond the accumulation of facts. Yea for progress!!!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-12301388577212992532010-04-10T20:00:00.001-04:002010-04-10T23:32:03.560-04:00GeocachingWe enjoyed what I think is officially our new favorite family pastime today. Have you ever tried geocaching? It is a lot of fun! For those of you who are unfamiliar with geocaching it is like a treasure hunt with a GPS to guide you to your destination. It is played outdoors and is enjoyed all around the world. According to <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/" linkindex="181">geocaching.com</a> there are <strong> 1,031,429</strong> active geocaches around the world. Geocaches are hidden boxes that contain a log with which you can sign in and tell others that you found the cache. There are also small treasures in the box. You can take a treasure and leave one behind for someone else. You can register for free on <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/" linkindex="182">geocaching.com </a>and locate caches in your area. They are also sorted by difficulty and several other factors such as child friendliness. You can also maintain a log of your finds there and share your experiences with others! <br />
We chose some caches in our area today that were located close together. I was really surprised to see how many caches there are in our city alone. It is kind of fun to think of all these hidden boxes out there that you never even knew about. Anyways we drove over to this great park by the river that we didn't even know existed. Incidentally I think that another great aspect of geocaching is exploring new places you haven't been to before. We used the GPS to find the location of the first cache but we never actually found the cache itself. I was feeling a bit discouraged as this particular cache was rated as easy. We tried the second one which was also at the same park and found it very quickly. I was really excited! I have always liked mysteries.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/018-27.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="183" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/018-27.jpg" width="508" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Our first cache. :)</div>Tyler enjoyed opening up the cache with Tim and signing into the logbook. He had brought a bag of small treasure with him and they left a small pirate scope in the cache. He took out a small plastic cross.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/020-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="184" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/020-23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>There are a couple more caches in the area where we were but we decided to save those for another day. We are pretty proud of the one we found for today. We enjoyed the family time together and exploring the park. If you have never been geocaching before I encourage you to try it out. I know we will be doing a lot more of it in the future.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/017-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="185" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/clune196/017-25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Before I go I wanted to share this sign with you. We were amused by it. Last time we checked ducks were birds. Hmm?Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-40870417317243928002010-04-05T22:46:00.000-04:002010-04-05T22:46:33.057-04:00Much Needed BreakI am sorry to have been gone from blogging for so long. Thank you for being patient with me and I am sorry to have caused anyone concern. Everyone here is doing wonderful. I needed to adjust some things in my life and especially in my daily schedule. I have always done my school planning and blogging at night after the kids are in bed and I am waiting for Christian to go to sleep. However I often end up spending a lot of time on the computer jumping from blog to blog and looking up this and that and I really end up being a lot less productive then I would like. I also tend to stay up way too late and journey into the kitchen to snack way too much. It is frustrating for me because there is so much I want to pack into a day and I never seem to have enough time. Of course the first thing that gets neglected is taking care of myself. I needed desperately to change some of my habits. I decided first of all to go to bed at night rather than staying up at the computer. I can't go to sleep because it still takes Christian forever to fall asleep and I must listen for him but I can lay in bed and read my bible on the Kindle. This also takes away the frustration of trying to find a quiet part of the day where I can read and pray. The truth is that there are just never those perfect quiet moments around here. It is so helpful too that I am removed in proximity from the kitchen. I have stopped eating for the sake of eating or in all honesty sometimes the comfort of it when I am stressed. I have started also to take sometime for myself each night after dinner to walk on the treadmill. This has been amazing for me. It really helps me unwind and I feel so much more energetic during the day. I am up to 45 minutes a day now which is about 2.75 miles at the pace I am at. I have lost about 23 pounds in the last month too which it was not really my objective to lose weight but it is a nice side benefit. :) I feel like these are some positive changes and they are things I want to keep up with. I do want to continue blogging also. I just need to make sure I take care of myself so I can be the wife, mom, and teacher God made me to be. So please be patient with me while I try to figure out where to fit in time to blog. Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-90239578094513932010-03-19T18:58:00.000-04:002010-03-19T18:58:52.628-04:00New Glasses<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tyler got new glasses today and we really wanted to share a picture with you all of how handsome he looks.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are you ready?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S6P_C-JGfHI/AAAAAAAAAUw/L0E_UcH4nD4/s1600-h/Tyler+Glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="184" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S6P_C-JGfHI/AAAAAAAAAUw/L0E_UcH4nD4/s400/Tyler+Glasses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Aren't they great?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just Kidding!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here they are for real...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S6P_qnid-BI/AAAAAAAAAU4/ltTRLMrI15o/s1600-h/Tyler+new+glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="185" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S6P_qnid-BI/AAAAAAAAAU4/ltTRLMrI15o/s400/Tyler+new+glasses.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Much better! He is very happy to be able to see a little more clearly. Yippee for new glasses!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-11172804271944619062010-03-02T00:15:00.001-05:002010-03-02T08:13:14.829-05:00Update on a little of everything! :)Life here has not been overly exciting lately. We have been working hard at school trying to take advantage of this time of the year when there is not a lot else going on to distract. We also have standardized testing coming up in a couple of weeks as we live in a state that requires it each year. I am trying hard to make sure we are at a good stopping point in our subjects as testing and Easter approaches.<br />
I spent last week enjoying the Heart of the Matter Online Conference. That was a great pick me up. I was reminded of lots of things and learned some new tips as well. Heather Laurie's presentation was a good reminder of keeping up a good sensory diet around here. I think we are pretty good about that but was reminded of certain areas we haven't worked on in awhile. I also walked away with a bunch of great tips on organizing my days after listening to Maggie Hogan. I loved her idea of grocery shopping twice a month. I hate grocery shopping to begin with so it is on the top of my list to strive for.<br />
Last week was my week to sit down and ponder next year for our homeschool and start to think a bit about high school planning for Tyler. (yikes!) He will be in the 8th grade, technically speaking, this next year although he really is above and below that in certain subjects. The whole thought of homeschooling through high school still scares me a bit. I don't want to screw it up but we still feel like that is the way God is leading us. We have decided to go with Tapestry of Grace for him next year. I ordered the download version and I love what I have seen so far.<br />
Christian and I have been working on his communication. We have been working with the<a href="http://www.educationalinsights.com/category/teachers/brand/smart+talk--8482-.do?sortby=bestSellers" linkindex="21"> Educational Insights Smart Talk system</a>. He loves to push buttons and we have tried different communicators in the past. This is great because it has cards with big pictures of one thing and when you press the first button it names what is in the picture, the second uses it in a sentence, and the third button asks you what it is. We are working on a set of about ten cards at a time.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S4yaKOQ4JSI/AAAAAAAAAUg/GsVEgvlT9cE/s1600-h/smart+talk.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="22" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S4yaKOQ4JSI/AAAAAAAAAUg/GsVEgvlT9cE/s200/smart+talk.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.educationalinsights.com/category/teachers/brand/smart+talk--8482-.do?sortby=bestSellers" linkindex="23"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Tyler has been working on all of his usual subjects and he has been working on a unit study on Russia. He has also been loving <a href="http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/your-business-math/" linkindex="24">the Sports Store business math program from Simply Charlotte Mason. </a> He finished his first mock month of business today and was so excited that he had made a profit. It is his favorite thing we are doing right now. He is learning a lot too like writing out checks, purchasing inventory, paying bills, and keeping a ledger.</div><div style="text-align: left;">As a final note here I had asked for prayer awhile back for my mom so I wanted to update you all on that too. She is still not feeling well. She is having a lot of shortness of breath. She has had a ton of tests and so far they have determined she has water under her heart, fluid in her lungs, problems with anemia, and today they told her she has an enlarged liver so she will be undergoing more tests for that tomorrow. There are still no real answers as to why these things are happening. She is at home and my dad is taking excellent care of her and they hope to have some answers and hopefully some solutions soon. Thank you for your prayers! They are much appreciated.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sorry there are no good pictures in this post and that it is a little choppy. I am super tired tonight! My hubby was doing a lot of sleep talking last night as he does when he is thinking a lot about work and I didn't get much sleep. I am going to bed now and I promise to post something else (with pictures) real soon! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-1357466625709092852010-02-26T00:43:00.000-05:002010-02-26T00:43:28.398-05:00Get back up<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. Proverbs 24:16</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tyler and I have been reading through <i>Boyhood and Beyond </i>by Bob Schultz. We have only been reading a chapter every other day so that we can discuss each chapter and he can have time to think it over. It is an amazing book for boys that are headed toward manhood.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21QHPBAX4QL._SL500_AA140_.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="17" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21QHPBAX4QL._SL500_AA140_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Today's chapter was about making mistakes and what we do after we make them. The author used a story about football to illustrate his point. Tyler was of course immediately interested as he is with anything that remotely talks about football. The story was about a runner that wanted to quit after the first time he was tackled. Tyler was amused by this because he knows that a running back would expect to be tackled and wouldn't let that end his desire to play football and keep running.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We talked about some of the mistakes in life that we make that can cause us to fall down. As we talked about some things in his life that make him fall down I thought of many in my own. We had a great discussion about times when he or other people he knows have fallen down and what their response has been.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This wonderful chapter discussed some of the responses everyone has when they fall down. Some people just stay down. This has happened to me before especially when our kids were first diagnosed with autism. The longer you stay down unfortunately the harder it is to get back up. Some people like to just pretend they never fell. This usually results in things getting much worse because we have done nothing to fix the cause of our fall so we will likely just fall again. Some people get angry that they fell and so they lay where they fell and dwell on their anger. Others will make excuses for their fall or blame others which will likely not only hurt themselves but their relationships as well.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The only good response to a fall is to get back up. It is best to get up quickly and try to fix that which made us fall in the first place. We also need to fix any damage we may have caused during our fall.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The great thing about falling and getting back up is that God knows we are going to fall and he knows how to help us recover from our falls too. He is waiting to help pull us up when we do fall. Tyler and I both found a lot of encouragement in that. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The other important thing we talked about falling was that when we fall we have an opportunity to learn. A foolish man continues to stumble because he fails to see what caused him to fall before. This is a true sign of a person journeying into a godly adult life. I want him to know that it is okay to make mistakes and to use them to learn how to either steer clear of a potential danger in the future or how to navigate through it.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I love the discussions this book has brought about between us. It thrills me that he is starting to understand what it takes to be a godly man and that he desires to be one. Thank you Bob Schultz! I think we will both have fond memories of reading this book.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise..." Micah 7:8</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S4dfJ1FHAXI/AAAAAAAAAUY/Rpv6ogveeaA/s1600-h/helping+hand.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="18" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S4dfJ1FHAXI/AAAAAAAAAUY/Rpv6ogveeaA/s200/helping+hand.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-7790177062966594752010-02-23T23:59:00.002-05:002010-02-24T01:01:56.551-05:00Heart of the Matter Online Conference Day 2I had another wonderful experience today as I listened to the speakers at the second day of the Heart of the Matter Online Conference. All the speakers today were down to earth people with practical advice. It was very informative.<br />
The first speaker today was Joyce Herzog. Joyce is the author of <i>Learning In Spite of Labels</i>, <i>the Scaredy Cat Reading System</i>, and many other books. She spoke on teaching struggling learners which is for obvious reasons a subject near and dear to my heart. She was a wealth of information on catering our teaching to the individual child. She also explained her reading system which I am interested in trying with Christian. Her website is <a href="http://www.joyceherzog.info/Joyce_Herzog/Welcome.html" linkindex="15">http://www.joyceherzog.info/Joyce_Herzog/Welcome.html</a> .<br />
The second speaker today was Katie Kubesh of Hands of a Child. She spoke on lapbooking which is a favorite learning activity in our house. She spoke on the different ways that you can use lapbooking in your homeschool. She also spoke on modifying lapbooking for individual ages and abilities. We have already used several Hands of a Child lapbooks in our school so we didn't need to be sold on their products as we know how fun and useful they are. It was nice to learn some things I didn't know or hadn't thought through before however like typing out the words onto the minibooks instead of writing. This would be a great help for Tyler with his fine motor issues. She was delightful and informative. I enjoyed her presentation a lot.<br />
The third speaker was Dari Mullins. She is coauthor of <i>Galloping the Globe</i> and <i>Cantering the Country.</i> She spoke about those times when we are just not happy homeschooling. I think she was a lot of encouragement to everyone as most homeschoolers have been at that place at least once. I know she was encouraging to me. A couple of inspiring thoughts she left us with were "Accept where you are and trust God for the rest" and "Homeschooling is not a sprint, homeschooling is a marathon". She was just full of practical Godly wisdom!<br />
The last speaker today was Jim Mueller of http://www.sciencejim.com . He spoke on the need for hands on science instruction. I definitely would agree with that. Science is my personal favorite but a tough subject for my boys. Jim has a curriculum available as well as online webinars if anyone is interested. He does believe in teaching physics as a first science curriculum which was interesting but I feel would not be a good fit in our home. He was informative and I can see that his animation would appeal to children.<br />
Tomorrow brings more great topics. I can't wait. I am glad that the audio of this conference will be available afterword because I know I will never remember all this great information. I'm off to get some sleep! Goodnight!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-16528491389914820172010-02-22T22:52:00.000-05:002010-02-22T22:52:17.428-05:00Heart of the Matter Online Conference Day 1<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hotmconference.com/" linkindex="160"> <img src="http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj249/homeschoolinghearts/HOTM%20Conference/HOTMConferenceSM.gif" /></a><br />
<br />
</div>Today I was so blessed to be able to attend<a href="http://www.hotmconference.com/" linkindex="161"> The Heart of the Matter online conference</a>. I won a ticket a little over a week ago on Heather Laurie's blog <a href="http://specialneedshomeschooling.com/" linkindex="162">SpecialNeedsHomeschooling.com</a> . Thanks Heather!!!<br />
I have not been able to attend homeschool conferences as I would love to during our past 6 years of homeschooling because of the special needs of our boys so to be able to hear these great speakers online is such a treat. I could also get my laundry folded at the same time. ;) LOL<br />
The first speaker this morning was Sheila Carrol, founder of <i>Living Books Curriculum</i>. She spoke on the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. I can't say that we are a truly Charlotte Mason type homeschool here but I do love her ideas and try to incorporate them into our learning as much as possible. Her words were spoken with great wisdom and a lot of experience and left me with a lot to think on.<br />
The second speaker was Diane Lockman, author of <i>Trivium Mastery</i> and <i>The Classical Scholar. </i>Diane spoke on reading aloud to your children and it's role in language development. She shared a lot of insight into how important reading is even at a young age. I have to admit I was thrilled to hear her reaffirm that it is okay for a child who is a reluctant reader to listen to audio books of good literature. Tyler does so much better with audio books but I always have a bit of worry that perhaps he isn't getting as much as he would by reading an actual book. She did suggest having them follow along in the actual printed book as they listen to pick up more of the sentence structure and such so we will give that a try in the future.<br />
The next speaker was Jay Ryan, author of <i>Classical Astronomy </i>and <i>Signs and Seasons.</i> I have to admit I didn't catch most of what he had to say as it was lunch time here and rather loud and hectic. I will have to listen to him again when the audio for the conference becomes available.<br />
The last speaker was probably the most inspirational to me today. Carol Barnier is the author <i>The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles. </i>I know her better as the author of <i>How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and On To Learning </i>however. She spoke on learning styles but she covered so much more than that too. She is just an amazingly creative teacher and entertaining and inspiring speaker. Her ideas are ones that will work very well around our house. I also found out she has this great website called <a href="http://www.sizzlebop.com/" linkindex="163">SizzleBop</a> that is loaded with ideas to teach distractible people. I can't believe I didn't know it existed before! She shared some of the great ditties she uses with her children to help them remember information also. They are also located on SizzleBop under the ditties section. You really should check them out as they are priceless!<br />
I feel so inspired and renewed today after listening to these great speakers. I can't wait to here more tomorrow! Hope everyone else who is attending the conference is enjoying it as well!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-1310786518958498422010-02-19T09:38:00.000-05:002010-02-19T09:38:38.727-05:00Love is still a worthy cause!God has been speaking to me through this song this week. When all the world seems so grim it is good to remember this. Love is indeed a worthy cause!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><embed align="middle" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="viewkey=3964c8da9a15e919b032" height="270" name="tangle" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" src="http://www.tangle.com/flash/swf/flvplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="330" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
<br />
</div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-30647155496117689182010-02-17T22:21:00.000-05:002010-02-17T22:21:35.306-05:00Giveaway winnersI am still so excited that a family has decided to adopt Ivy. Thank you again to everyone who contributed here to her adoption fund. It has been amazing to pray and hope that she would find a family and then to watch God answer in such a wonderful way!<br />
We have picked our winners for our giveaway here and I will email each of you to find out where to send your prize. The winners are:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">$50 Lakeshore Learning Gift Certificate - Leslie N</div><div style="text-align: center;">$30 Music for Little People Gift Certificate- Allison B</div><div style="text-align: center;">Felt Color and Size Sorting Toy- Katrina N</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Congratulations and thank you for you generous donations and your prayers for Ivy!</div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-11747265940081930992010-02-17T16:13:00.000-05:002010-02-17T16:13:26.749-05:00Praise Report on Ivy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S3xZ2ktj5yI/AAAAAAAAAUI/UkPfwtrhiys/s1600-h/Ivy.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="424" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sSvk5n-zeXg/S3xZ2ktj5yI/AAAAAAAAAUI/UkPfwtrhiys/s640/Ivy.jpg" width="564" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was thrilled today to find out today that Ivy has found a home. I was over at Reece's Rainbow and saw that she had been moved to the section with the children who have found homes. We were able to raise $205 towards her adoption fund and I want to thank everyone who contributed. I am ending the ChipIn! early because she has found a home now. I will be picking winners for our giveaway this evening. I will post them here then. Right now I will just be taking some time to praise God that he is giving this precious child a family! </div>Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1113245138538038104.post-8664742500856302042010-02-17T10:36:00.000-05:002010-02-17T10:36:55.777-05:00Prayer requestI have a prayer request to share today. I spoke to my mother on the phone this morning and she spent the day at the hospital yesterday. She has been experiencing some shortness of breath, rapid weight gain, and swelling. They performed a CAT scan and EKG and have determined that she has some water around her heart. She also has some issues with her gall bladder. I am not sure how that intertwines but apparently it does somehow. She is at home today and on some new medicines but she will be back at the doctor on Friday for more tests. We would be extremely thankful for all your prayers. I know it would mean a lot to both her and my dad also. Thank you so much!Bronwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07909059332216476074noreply@blogger.com3