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I am amazed at all of the weekly meals already listed with links!! Also, homemade baby food!!

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It's amazing what little one's say!!

Last night Isaac had me laughing. It's hard for anyone to make me laugh so this was pretty amazing!!! I was picking up the kitchen after dinner and Craig was getting Rebekah and Isaac ready to go swimming. You see, for the past couple of weeks I've been wanting to get a new bathing suit since I still some poundage to lose after Elsah. (Maybe I can fit into my old one....I'm just scared to try) So, I've told Isaac that I'll be getting a new bathing suit soon and then we can go to the pool. Well, last night Isaac was asking about the bathing suit from last yr.(my pregnancy one) and I told him that one doesn't fit anymore. I said, "Isaac, while you are gone I'll try on my bathing suit to see if it fits yet and when you get home I'll let you know." Isaac says, "I think God is going to work a miracle!" I was laughing so hard. See, yesterday they were at VBS and he learned about Jesus healing the blind man and that it was a miracle. It's just amazing to me how little one's see things differently.

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Tadpoles to Frogs

Two weeks ago, Rebekah and Isaac were at our little creek near our home and found some tadpoles. This finding started a new and exciting time in our home. I wanted Isaac to see how the tadpoles changed into frogs. I've never done this before, so I had to do some research. On the week Rebekah and Craig were gone, Isaac and I went to the Pet store. We got an aquarium, food, rocks, conditioner and some plants. That's what I read would be okay for the tadpoles. However, the water was very dirty and after a day and they just didn't look ok. I did more research. We ended up getting a whole set up for the aquarium with a filter and all the things to help neutralize the PH to 7.0, two neon fish (they can live with the tadpoles) fish food, a manual cleaner for the tank and a couple of other things. Well, yesterday we got our first Frog. We noticed one of the tadpoles had all four legs and was trying to get out of the water. So, here I am again. More Research. What do I now do with the frog. Well, we put it in a small fish bowl, got a rock so he can hide and climb on, a piece a bush that he can climb the tree and leaves and a little lid filled with water. We have to make sure that it's moist inside so we spray the inside with the water from the aquarium. Whew...! We have learned a lot about tadpoles. I'll have to get some pics of the tadpoles soon...

Trip to Atlanta

Last week Craig and Rebekah went off for there Father/daughter trip. They went to Atlanta. The pics above are from CNN, Coca Cola and the Aquarium. They were able to try all different kinds of Coca Cola drinks and see them bottle coke etc. The aquarium was so huge and actually has the 2nd thickest piece of glass in the world. It's made from China so they have the thickest in the world. At CNN Rebekah was able to pretend she was in the news, see how they gave the news by reading prompts and learned how much actually goes into making news so they could be the first to present it to the people...You never know one day she might but hopefully at Fox News and not CNN. (Just my bias opinion) :) On the way home, they stopped to see the owner of the Labradoodles. We will be getting in one of the puppies in September. We've waited for such a long time to get a puppy and it 's now the perfect time. Upon entering the owners drive they spotted this snake. It's either a black racer or a rat snake. Either or, it's in the process of devouring a squirrel. Gross!!!

While Craig and Rebekah went on there Father/daughter time Isaac and I went out on a "date". We went out to eat at the new Fish and Chips and then to Goodberries. While we were eating Isaac said, " Mom, this is like we are married!" How funny! He just loved the time we had and that this night was just a special time that was just for him and I to share and enjoy talking with one another.

It's now summer time in our house. We are going to chill out with school for a while and work on living skills. Make some goals and try to meet them. I'm going to get Rebekah a savings account and then start helping her manage her money. She's got a couple of cool things going on (regarding goals/ideas) but it's just the beginning and I don't want to blurt it out. So, when she has finished a goal I'll post about it.

Rebekah is 11!!

Wow! Eleven years have flown by! I can't believe my little girl is growing into a young lady! She's almost as tall as me! I'm sure she'll surpass me by 13! Here are a couple of pics from her bday!

I was so shocked!!

I couldn't believe it. I took Isaac to hockey yesterday and Rebekah watched Elsah. When I got home, to my surprise, I was greeted by Chef Rebekah. She had the lights dimmed and candles were on the table. She had the table all set with special cups. She made dinner for our family! Spaghetti with sauce. ( I had picked up a few things on the way home to help with dinner but had no idea how much effort she had put into it) She had all of us sit down and served us our dinner of Spaghetti, salad, bread, peaches and a lemon meringue pie. That was the best gift I could ever get from my girl! While I was at hockey with Isaac, I was wondering what I was going to put on the table for dinner! What a great way to come home!!

Elsah will probably say da da before ma ma....just because it's easier:) she's saying ba ba da ba ba da....so cute!

Don't fix it if it ain't broke!

Currently reading....


This is what I've learned in the past two-three weeks. I had changed Rebekah's curriculum just about three weeks ago. We were both really excited about it but have since learned that she really misses the World of Adventure program. It's easier for her to use and is in a chronological order regarding the time periods. Which makes history make sense and fun. I can still use the Charlotte Mason method with Learning Adventures so it's not that big of a deal. We got some wonderful resources that we will still end up using too!





Why is it that homeschoolers start to get ansy in the Spring Time with their curriculum? I know I do. I start to get a feeling for a spring cleaning and time to start fresh. You know the way you clean your home in the spring time, well it's the same way with homeschooling. We've been going and going all year long and we are just ready to take a break, get reorganized and feel more energized to start a new yr. I always think to myself....Is there something better out there for my kids to help grasp certain subjects. Am I doing the best I can as a teacher? Am I teaching them the right way to help them become self learners and giving them the best of every opportunity? What am I leaving out? Are they being challenged enough? Am I doing this right? So, these questions arise for me every single year.


So, during this questioning time period I decided to change curriculum thinking that this would be best. We now know it wasn't. Rebekah has a love for learning about history and living books. I already provided her with the best curriculum that fits her style of learning. Which is why I said "Don't fix it if it ain't broken." Maybe another homeschooler deals with the same. I'd love to hear from you so feel free to post your difficulties as well.





Elsah is 7mths now! Isaac, Elsah and I were on our way home from the store yesterday and Isaac goes "Mom, Elsah is trying to talk" So, I listen a little bit closer. She's starting to say Ba, ba ba....Awwww! My heart just melted! What an amazing thing to hear! I love it!





Well, that's it for now!

Yesterday we started our new curriculum. Isaac started as well. Rebekah said she really like school yesterday. One of my desires is for my children to enjoy learning.

Sunday, Rebekah was in a musical at church. Several different women sacrifice much of their time to get this together. It's a lot of hard work but well worth it. The main reason is to Glorify God and to share his message of love, that we all are sinners and need a saviour and that none of us are perfect except by God's saving grace. She had two different parts in it. Here are some pics from the musical. The dress Elsah has on is one of my favorites.

These are pics from Isaac's Cubbie class (he'll be moving on to sparks next yr.) and Elsah's first real smile for the camera!!!

This week was a busy week. Trying to get organized for the "next school". We had a friend Kevin, who was in our wedding come down from VA to visit. He is riding his motorcycle all the way to California. His blog is on my "favorite blogs" below. What an exciting trip.

I went to the curriculum sale on Saturday and Im sooo glad I made a list. It is so easy to pick up stuff that looks sooo good for your kids. I'm planning on having a "composer/artist" table where they look at pictures while listening to Narrative on Bach's life/Mozart's life. Or any of the other composers I have at the table. My science table is going to include hands on experiments, bird calling and how to recognize the calls, and science books with lots of pics. So, this is my plan. Whether or not it flows like I want is up in the air.

Rebekah had a swim meet this Sat/Sun too! She swam a 200 IM in 3:27. That's two laps of each stroke. I think her best stroke is Butterfly. It's beautiful when I watch her. It's amazing that since she has been on the swim team (since January) she has totally progressed in her times.

So, what's on the agenda for this week???? Hmmm....Planning, organinizing. I have a class tomorrow for work, have SEEK on Thursday and then I work Friday so I think that'll be it.

I need to order a couple of more books for our curriculum and then we'll be set to start.