More Fun With Photoshop

So ... I made a new blog header.

I love the look but still need to play to figure out why I can't make it the size I want. Also, I am not sure how to make the background the way I want it.

I am LOVING playing with Photoshop though. I have made some scrapbook pages, a friend's baby shower invitation, our Christmas Cards for this year, and now this. I am looking forward to spending much more time playing with it!

Here is an anonymous version of the baby shower invite I made this summer:

Hope you are having a great holiday season so far!

So ....

I guess I am realizing that I can continue to post here. It's not like this was a strictly homeschooling blog, right?

So, maybe I will be back here soon.

:0)

New Fun

My fun friend, Sarah, has ruined any chance of me utilizing my time wisely by introducing me to digital scrapbooking.

I had so much fun today looking though some online tutorials and after a few hours a bit of fun, I had completed my first page.

It isn't all that fantastic or impressive but it was super fun and I am excited to make more.

Thanks Sarah!!

Here it is ..... Fancy and her friend being silly:

Change ... not on my list of my favorite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings .... sure, those could make my list, but CHANGE, not so much.

Things are changing around here. The more I try to resist it, the more change there is. Some are "good" changes ... except that I do NOT like any change. Oh, I already made that clear? Ok then, we can move on.

The biggest change: The final verdict is in. We will not be homeschooling for the 2009-2010 schoolyear. First I typed, "this will be our last year to homeschool", but then I remembered that I once twice said multiple times that we would never homeschool ... that I could never homeschool. And yet we did. We have homeschooled for two years. They have been an amazing two years. Two years that have blessed me beyond description. I can't say this will be our last year because I don't know what the future brings.

I have regretted my children's early years in so many ways. Mine were the kids that were there when the daycare opened and were picked up when the daycare was closing for too many years. That's the way it was done. That's what all my friends from work did with their kids. What else can you do when you work a Monday through Friday 8-5 job? My kids seemed fine. I was fine and that's how I grew up. I can honestly say I thought of it as normal.

Soon I decided to go back to school. Those were *busy* years. My kids were loved but neglected all the more. Once I graduated, things slowly came into perspective. My kids no longer had to go to daycare after school. I could work nights and be there for them. What a blessing. Then I realized I could send them to a small Christian school in our area that only required them to be there three days a week and I could be with them even more. Even more of a blessing. That was a great year. I realized that year through much prayer that I had the opportunity to allow God to "restore the years that the swarming locusts had eaten" (Joel 2:25). I thought I might be going crazy as the thought of homeschooling seemed more and more reasonable to me. Prayer convinced me it wasn't craziness. It was submission to His will for us in that season.

Looking back, His timing couldn't have been more perfect.

These two years have restored our family. We are closer to eachother and to God. We are happier. We are blessed and we know it.

It's time for this change. I cannot run on 4 hours of sleep (on a good day) for much longer. I want to ... oh, how I want to .... but it's time. I have spent two years trying to figure out (financially) how to quit my job. It's not going to happen ... not in this season.

My kids deserve teachers that aren't tired and cranky. My kids deserve to be able to go on fieldtrips (we can never go on the homeschool fieldtrips we are invited to because we barely keep up with the school load due to my work/sleep schedule). My kids deserve a lot that I can't give them in this season. I know that. I hate it but I know it.

I know there are seasons in life. I know change comes. I accept it. I do.

It doesn't mean I'm not sad. I will miss my kids being here every minute. I will miss so much. And let's face it, I am not looking forward to other people making our assignments. ugh :)

The kids are going back to that three day a week school that we loved so dearly. It is a NAUMS school. We loved the program. It will be a perfect balance of school and home. Of that I am confident. They will be home with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will be able to arrange my work schedule so that everyday that they are home with me I will be awake and happy. Imagine that.

It is time for a new season.

Please join me in prayer for my family as we make this adjustment.

A Peek ....

..... into our day

 

Pedro and Jenni enjoying the open windows and cool breezes:

                         

 

The countdown has begun. This is our chalkboard in the kitchen:

                               

February Happenings

We have had a fun month around here.

There's been lots of painting ... by the boy:

 

 

.... and the girl:

who, by the way, is wearing what has to be her favorite shirt STILL - she is frequently showing her support for him.

                       

We built a log cabin on Presidents Day (is that supposed to have an apostrophe or not?)

                      

And because we are fresh out of Abraham Lincoln action figures, it has become a Lego prop .... hours have been spent in this log cabin people:

                         

We made some Red Velvet Valentine cupcakes and iced them with pink ... YUM!

                          

Bubby's Basketball season came to and end. We had a great time at the end of the season party where Bubby got to hang out with WHK.

                         

And where he also got to meet these guys and get their autographs:

FYI: He was much more excited to meet them than these pictures suggest!

And last but not least, here is how Jenni spends her afternoons. Apparently she doesn't find reading as exciting as we do!

                              

The Start of an Important Week

I am tired.

There has been much discussion, prayer and downright gnashing of teeth around here over the last few months. This is the week we have some appointments that hopefully will help us come to some conclusions about school for next year.

I am mourning and celebrating at the thought of possible changes.

Please pray.

I am comforted by this:

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

Random Pictures

A visit with my niece who even let me fix her hair

The finished product

Building DNA

BFFs

Sweet Jenni

Building Olympus Mons

Bubby finished up his study of Mars last week with a project. He was anticipating building his Olympus Mons model for DAYS.

A Salt Dough model, some baking soda, dish soap, vinegar and red food coloring and here we have it:

   

 

 

He decided towards the end that the lava wasn't red enough. He added some more food coloring and here is what he got:

 

Quite honestly, it looked a bit like a crime scene by the end. =)

His review: "That was the most funnest thing I ever did in all of my life!" Yep .... off to work on grammar! =)

Bubby and Random Math

Bubby often tells us some random math fact .... like while driving in the car he'll say, "Hey Mom, did you know if you add those 2 signs together you get 42?", or something like that.

Today, it went like this:

"Hey Mom, did you know our family is 93?"

I'm thinking ..... er, how is our family 93? I couldn't figure out where he was coming from. I think he could tell by my speechlessness I wasn't going to get it.

"Yeah Mom,see:
Daddy __
+ Mommy __
+ Fancy 12
+ Me 9

= 93

Yeah .... makes perfect sense.

This boys mind works in the strangest way. =)

A Bit of Paint Can Make it All Better

With Bubby, any amount of writing is just plain TOO MUCH. It is really the only battle we have. He hates to have to pick up a pencil. Period.

Why this never came to me sooner, I don't know, but I have recently started letting him paint some of his assignments. Yep ..... anything. He even has painted his math facts a time or two.

Today, he needed to make the title page for his chapter on Mars in his Science notebook.  After a long morning of copywork, language arts worksheets, and math work, I knew I might be in for a meltdown. I decided to be proactive. I pulled out the paints and the science notebook and he happily worked away.

I wish I would have thought of this A LOT sooner. =)

Random January Happenings

Making "Fossils"

 

 

 

 

Icicles (I use the term loosely .... but they WERE frozen)