Waiting For Him

Piano Lessons

2009-11-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

It feels so nice to be connected to everyone again. ;0) It's kind of scary to realize how dependent I am on the internet.
I hope everyone is doing well. I am surviving....catching up on laundry. I'm not sure how I got so behind. In order to stay caught up I need to do one load a day. I don't know what happened, but I have about 4 loads of laundry that need to go through the cycle of wash/dry/fold/put away. I'm not complaining. I'm happy to have a washer and dryer. It's little things that I keep looking at, wondering if I will have them when we move to the mission field. We won't have a dishwasher...we will have 5 dishwashers. lol Sorry, I couldn't help it. Corny, I know. I guess we will just have to all pitch in and wash everything by hand. Not big deal. I find the kitchen stays neater when I wash dishes by hand anyway. You can tell when I am home alone(children are sleeping) and my beloved is out, because I tend to be very chatty. ;0)
I hope you don't mind the chattiness.

The house we are renting has a beautiful piano. I know I have expressed how I have always dreamed about playing the piano since I was little. I would love to take lessons, but I don't know how I would be able to squeeze it into our schedule. I think what makes it harder is having to drive somewhere, and the amount of time it would take for a few of us to take lessons, etc. Anyway, Micah has a desire to learn as well. Does anyone know of a child friendly program that I can use for him? I am debating whether to start him on lessons now, or just wait until we move. I do have a keyboard that I would like to take with us, and hopefully be able to use to take lessons over there.

Excuse my beloved there. He does have an office in the house....I'm not sure how he works amidst the noise music . ;0)

I recently purchased a homeschool edition of Learn & Master Piano. It has enough DVD's for supposedly 2 years worth of lessons. I am only up to Lesson 1, and I already learned about chords, which is so exciting. It makes you feel like you are actually playing the piano, even though it's only a couple of chords. lol ;0) It's good like for Kayla and I, but too much for Micah.

I would like to at least start teaching Micah the notes on the staff, etc. However, I am not sure if I would cause him more confusion or not.

I also purchased the Guitar version of the program above for my beloved. I wouldn't mind learning the guitar as well. I don't know if I am putting off the inevitable. If not I will have to bite the bullet and make time in our schedules to drive somewhere to take lessons.
Any advice from you experienced piano players?

Hellllooooo!!!!

2009-11-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Just stopping by to say hello. It turns out there was something wrong with the internet card itself. They sent me out a replacement card today, and it will take 1 to 2 business days. Miss you all. My beloved is on his way out to a meeting with his boss who just flew in, and then he has his Monday night basketball game. ;0) So depending on the time, I will just try to post from his laptop. If not, see you in one to two business days. ;0)

Internet Issues

2009-11-05T22:35:00.001-08:00

We sort of live out in the country. There is no DSL or cable internet out here. It was either dial up or an internet plug in card, with a limited amount of bandwidth. I went with the internet card. However I received a letter stating there was a glitch with the card, to go to their website and download a new driver to fix it. I tried it and it didn't work. Turns out that was only for regular PC's. They said they are still working on a Mac solution, which is what I have. So I should be up and running by tomorrow or during the weekend. Sorry this is short, but it's a pain typing from my phone. ;o)

Recap on Parenting Woes....A Very Chatty Post...probably TMI ;0)

2009-11-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

The last post I wrote on this brought about some interesting comments. Thank you to those of you that did comment.

From what I gathered, how your mother's were, as far as being organized or not, directly affected how you are now as an adult. My mother always kept the house immaculate. You could eat off of the floor. Literally!! We lived in an apartment in the projects in Spanish Harlem. We lived on the 20th floor. The building was icky, the elevator was ickier. ;0) However, you walked into the apartment, and it felt like you were in a mini palace. Everything was spotless. We had tile floors. Every certain amount of weeks she would wax the tiles. She would wax me into a corner. lol I couldn't move until everything was dry. Thankfully that corner most of the time was a sofa. I had many a drawer flipped over onto the bed or floor because everything wasn't folded neat enough. I would have to refold everything. My blouses had to be folded like a department stores folds theirs.

I don't think I am as bad as my mother. However, I was discussing this with my beloved last week, after my post, and he thinks I am a little OCD as well. He said when we met at 16 I was really bad. He said my bedroom was not normal. I had little dividers for my underclothes, etc. Anyway, I think having children has loosened me up a little. ;0) I see a lot of myself in Kayla.

Growing up I was an only child. My sister and brother weren't born until I was 10 and 12 respectively. My sister was spoiled rotten. The only chores she had growing up was dishes every certain amount of days. My sister now struggles with keeping things clean.

I wanted to clarify a little better what I meant by my previous post. Britney does do her share of things. I have mentioned before how I have broken down the house into zones. Each child each has a zone that they are responsible for. I have one too. ;0) After breakfast we "hit" our zones. After our zones are done, we then go into school. It makes it much easier for this OCD momma to have a peaceful mind in order to focus on school. I guess what I am trying to accomplish with Britney is a change of heart.

This is a perfect example. Today everyone worked on their zone. Micah's zone is the school room. We have a chest in there that holds all of our games. We also have a really tall bookshelf that holds a lot of our books. Over the weekend that room got...very used. ;0)

Kayla was done with her zone, and went in and started organizing the pillows on the sofa in Micah's zone.

(Just in case you're wondering, we put sheets on these sofas. The school room leads out to the "park" in the back. The boys are constantly coming in with all sorts of critters. At least I tried to get sheets that match. lol)

Elijah finished his zone...

and he went into the school room and helped Micah organize all the pieces to a game that fell behind the game chest.

After I finished in the kitchen I went into the school room and organized some school books that were on the floor. Britney finished her zone....and she went upstairs to read. lol

I can't really complain, as she did what she was told. She even did it cheerfully.

She scrubbed the table down.

She swept

I guess what I want for her to do is to look around and see if anything else might need to be done without being told, just like everyone else. I don't want to constantly have to tell her what to do. I don't remember at what age that should stop.

Then the big ole soft side of me wants to say, "well, her reasoning and logic really stink." We are doing some therapy activities to help her think through things a little better. We use a book called Think It Say It. She has to look at a picture, and then I ask her all sorts of questions related to that picture. When we first started, she would look at the picture of a little boy in the kitchen, and his bowl of food is on the floor. I would ask her, "what is the little boys' problem?" She would come up with the most interesting of answers. She would be completely serious. I would have to look at the picture again, to make sure I wasn't missing something.

Well, I'm rambling now. I guess I'm a little chatty because the children are asleep and my beloved is playing basketball with some of the men/youth from church. ;0) (I have been trying to blog the night before and just schedule them to post in the morning.)

Prayer Journal Add Ons/Women's Ministry

2009-11-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

I added two things to my prayer journal; one not so important, and the other made a huge difference.

The first one is a little pocket that I made. I just constructed it out of card stock. I added a little flap on it, and used a piece of velcro to close it. I also used a piece of velcro to attach it to the back inside cover of the binder. I am in the process of putting some of my homemade stickers in there. So I can detach the entire pocket, open up the flap and take my stickers out. Remember this post and this one. I figured maybe I could put a sticker next to answered prayer? I'm not sure yet. I know this doesn't look like it's on the back cover, but I did the lazy thing and I took the picture with the laptop, instead of going upstairs to get the camera. Bad, I know.

Now this add on I am excited about. I was having a hard time with my prayer journal. It still wasn't working exactly the way I wanted it to. For example, a friend from our old church asked requested prayer for a math test that she was going to take. The test was to be taken on Tuesday. I pray for friends and family on Thursdays, according to my little tabs. Obviously I wasn't going to wait until Thursday to pray for her, she needed prayer on Tuesday. I was stuck as far as where to write the prayer request. I didn't want to write it under "friends and family" and then forget to pray for her. I also didn't want to write it under my beloved's section, which is who I pray for on Tuesdays. So here is what I did. I found dividers for days 1-31. They didn't have 8.5 X 5.5 dividers, so I had to cut them down. I will say had I known that they don't make all these nice little doo dads for 8.5 X 5.5 binders, I probably would have made my prayer binder the regular 8.5 X 11 size. I know it looks backwards. I think it's because I took the picture with the computer. Sorry. It makes me a little dizzy just looking at it. lol So now if someone asks me for prayer, I can write it under whatever day it is. In the morning, I can look under the regular day tab(Monday through Sunday) and then I can look under the numbered tab to see what I am supposed to pray for.

What I really like about this as well, is that let's say today is November 1st, and I filled in a couple of things that needed to be prayed for. When it rolls back around to the 1st of the next month, December, I can see what prayers have or haven't been answered. I am so excited to see on a monthly/daily basis what prayers the Lord has graciously answered.
Now, on to the Women's Ministry portion of my title. The Women's Ministry in my church is fairly new. From what I understand it has only been off of the ground for a year, maybe two. It is under a new leader(Cheri). She asked my beloved and I to pray, to see in what direction the ministry should go. My beloved thought it would be a good idea for the women to just start praying. Start a small women's group who get together and pray. As we pray, the Lord will guide, as far as what else to do. So as of right now it's only Cheri and I. lol ;0) Not a very large group, huh? She asked me to pray, to see who else the Lord impresses upon our hearts to ask. Our first prayer meeting will be this Thursday evening. No one from church reads my blog, so I guess I can share on here. ;0) I thought it would be a neat idea for each of us to have our own prayer journal. I already have mine, and this weekend I was able to make one for Cheri. I guess depending on who else will join us on such short notice, I might have to make 1 or 2 more. Do you think that's being too pushy? I don't want to force what works for me, on someone else. I don't want them to feel obligated to use it and bring it to the prayer group. Should I just give one to everyone, or offer one to everyone? I thought it might be a nice gift. Yes? No?
Do you have any neat Women's Ministry ideas that I can possibly share with her. I know I probably won't be at this church too much longer, but I figured while I am here I might as well fellowship with others. ;0)
p.s. Penny and Elizabeth, I'm hoping to return your emails today. Sorry it has taken me so long.

A Beautiful Song

2009-10-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

This song almost forces you to picture yourself in the scene. Absolutely beautiful!! For those of you on Facebook with me, sorry for the repeat.

Parenting Woes

2009-10-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

If I wasn't so comfy, I would get up to take pictures right now. I can guarantee you that if I got up and found the girls, Kayla is cleaning up something, and Britney is sitting somewhere reading.

Yes, this is the post that I mentioned the other day. This is one of the many areas, I am sure, that I am failing in as a parent. *sigh*

I wasn't going to mention any names, but I figured, ahhh, by the time they get older, and possibly find my blog and read this post, it will be something that has been corrected, and not a big deal. lol Plus, Jesus will be here by then. lol ;0) Kayla and Britney are the....I know I am dating myself here, but they are the odd couple. Yes, yes, I'm 36. ;0) Kayla has all of her things immaculately organized, and Britney is a slob. There is no other way to say it.

I don't know how this has happened. The only thing I can think of is that because of everything Britney has gone through, seizures, speech issues, etc. I have been very layed back when it comes to teaching her how to fit in, as far as helping around the house, like the rest of the family. She has absolutely no desire, nothing, nada, zilch, zip to help clean, out of her own free will. When given direction on performing a chore, it's as if the sky is falling. The first thing she will say is, "but mom, it's too hard." Then I will say, "No, it's not. Look, this is how you can do it." Then she will say, "but mom, it's going to take forever." Then of course I go into how it's not going to take forever, that that's an exaggeration, and how exaggeration is a form of lying...blah, blah, blah. I don't mind if she says, it feels like it will take forever. I am not going to control how she is feeling, but it sort of gets under my when she says it WILL take forever. lol It's a pet peeve of mine, I know.
   Anyway, she is now 11 age wise, 8 1/2 -9 comprehension wise, and I need to fix this now, before she gets any older. Her husband is going to return her to me if I don't take care of this now. lol ;0) I don't know where to start? Yes, by sheer force and consequence, I can make her do it, but I want her heart to change. I want her to do it because she wants to, not because if she doesn't, her books will be taken away.
   Kayla will not sit down and do anything enjoyable until everything is neat and tidy. She also does that to a fault. There comes a point every day, where my beloved and I have to shut her down and say, "No more cleaning, go do something for you. Go relax."
   How did I mess this up so badly? They are at complete extremes. Someone help me please? Anyone been there, done that? Any Titus 2 advice? Do I give Britney a simple instruction, if you don't do this, here is the consequence, and just pray for a heart change? She knows she is messy. The other day I went into her room to help her pick out some clothes for church. She quickly got up and stood guard in front of her closet and said, "Oh, don't look in there. I have to clean my closet."
   So this isn't a cheery post on how I am failing in an area, and what I am doing about it. lol I guess I am still in the planning stages of redeeming myself. Help.......

Taking My Own Advice

2009-10-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

   I reread my last post, and took my own advice. lol I completely forgot that the Lord had been laying someone on my heart very heavily the last few weeks. I was impressed that she was struggling with something. I emailed her the evening that I wrote the post. Sure enough she responded. God is so good. My free time went into emailing her back. It also didn't help that I fell asleep at 8:30 last night. lol I normally write my posts in the evening once the children are in bed, so I completely dropped the ball on that one.
   I will finish writing the half written post I already have, and post that before we go to our small group meeting at church this evening.
   I hope you are all having a great day in Him.
   I will respond to some of your emails and comments this evening when we get home...I hope. lol ;0)

Hearing God's Voice...Or Seeing

2009-10-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hmmm....I was going to write something about a certain area that I am failing at in parenting, but decided naaa, not today. lol

I have been reading a book about hearing God's voice. So far it has been very good. It mentions how it's not an audible voice, but pretty much would be a spontaneous thought that comes to your mind, but you know it's not something you would say or think about. For instance while doing something, someone that you may not have thought about in a long time pops into your mind. You decide to call them or pray for them, and then realize that they needed prayers at that moment, or they are going through something that you may be able to help them with.
One time my beloved was driving, and the same thing happened to him. "John Doe" popped into his mind. He pushed the thought aside about calling him. He wanted to spend time with the Lord during the drive, it was a long 3 hour drive. "John Doe" popped into his mind again, and he ignored it. Could you believe the phone rang a few minutes later, and it was, "John Doe." A few minutes into the conversation my beloved was impressed to ask "John Doe" if he was being faithful to his wife. Now that is a hard question to just come out and ask someone. How he did it I don't know? Well, I guess since the Lord was prompting, He equipped him to ask, right? My beloved hesitated a bit, and then just asked. "John Doe" hemmed and hawed, and then admitted to being in an adulterous affair. I will leave the story there, as I guess the rest is irrelevant to my point here. Feel free to pray for him, as the Lord knows who he is. ;0)
The Lord speaks to us in so many different ways. I will admit that I question ALOT whether or not the Lord is speaking to me. Sometimes I just wonder if it's "my thoughts." I feel unworthy to be spoken to by Him. Wow, the Creator of the universe speaking to little old me. It just seems unfathomable. My beloved and I spoke at length this morning about this unworthiness that I feel (a post for another day, lol) While he was at a meeting I mulled it over and over. Dear, I tend to analyze things, reanalyze things, overanalyze things; to the point of lunacy. lol I wondered if what we spoke about was true.
Now, Elijah has a curious side to him. This is my stovetop. I promise I didn't put those flowers there for the picture. They are actually looking a little sad, I should have removed them before the picture. lol Anyway, focus, focus. Umm..where was I? Oh, the stovetop. So here it is.

On the top of the first set of burners there is this little button. If you press it, a little "wall" for lack of a better word pops up. This is a new thing for us, as you can tell I don't even know the correct terminology. The first time I saw the button I pressed it at least twice, just to see it slide up, and then back into the counter area.

Well, Elijah is no different.  About two weeks ago he must have pressed it one too many times, and it broke. URGH. I tried it, my beloved tried it, nothing. I could manually lift the wall up, but if I let go, it would drop right back down. I kept thinking we are going to have to pay and have someone come fix it before we move. Another expense!!

So I was cleaning the kitchen today, and analyzing what my beloved and I spoke about, feeling unworthy, generational sins, how I don't think He "talks" to me, etc. I was scrubbing down the stove. I pressed the button, just hoping it would work. Nothing!!

I said, "Lord, if what my beloved is telling me is true, and what we discussed is from You, allow the little wall to come up.


Yes, I know. We serve an amazingly personal God who cares about us. He cares about every little detail. And I am so sorry for thinking that He doesn't speak to this unworthy sinner.

It has remained in the up position since then. Kayla came over and pressed it, and as it was going down, I said, "no, leave it up." It has served as an incredible reminder for me throughout the day. He loves ME.

It's still hard, as I tend to see only outward answers. It's easy. I prayed, and I saw a physical answer to my prayer. I don't know how much longer the Lord will answer me in this fashion before He says, "Shereen, have faith in inner, non-visual type of answers." Thankfully I serve a God who knows my heart, and He knew that I needed this today.

Prayer Request...again. ;0)

2009-10-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for asking for more prayer, but if you can, can you please pray that we are all feeling better by tomorrow? My beloved will be preaching at our church because the speaker who was scheduled to preach is having health issues. So the three requests are:
1-That the original speaker's heart test come back okay.
2-That my beloved hear what the Lord wants Him to share.
3-And that we are all well enough to go hear him preach.

He hasn't preached since we left Florida. I really missed hearing him preach, so I am happy that the Lord opened up the door for him to do so.

Q & A

2009-10-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Talk about dropping like flies. URGH!! I think the mother fly dropped the hardest. It might be a tie between Kayla and I. ;0) Right after I hit publish on my last post, I sneezed twice, and I thought, "hmmmm, that didn't feel right." I read for a little while and went right to bed. Sure enough I couldn't even get out of bed the next morning(yesterday). I pretty much followed suite today. I'm sitting on the sofa now, which is an improvement. The younger three are moving around pretty well, so I am hoping my sickness will be as short lived as theirs.

I figured the easiest thing to do, which doesn't require much thinking on my part is to answer some questions that you lovely ladies have asked.

Q:Where did you get the magnetic days of the month sheet?
A: I purchased it at Ben Franklin. I am not sure if they have them in all states. They have a store locator, so you can check to see if there is one near you. If anyone wants one and can't get a hold of one, or can't order one, just let me know.

Q:Where did you get your workbox system? I love those colorful columns of boxes. So much more fun than my clear boxes!

A: The ones pictured above I ordered from Costco. They have free shipping, which was nice. They have a double set, which means they are connected. I know you can't really tell from the picture, but the middle and right towers are connected on the top and bottom. They share the center column. Then I bought two single towers. Kayla and Britney's towers are separate. Kayla's tower is on a separate wall. Clear as mud? I thought so. lol If you click on the Costco link above, you can see what I mean. There are pictures of both the single and double towers on there. I have yet to write a post on how these work in our home. Hopefully soon I will get that done.

Q1:And I would love to hear about the fleece that ya'll put out.
Q2:I would like to hear about your fleece experience. :)
A: I have been meaning to share this. The night that the missionary family left our home my beloved and I prayed that the Lord would show us that this was where he wanted us to go. We prayed that He would give one of us a dream. We went to sleep. I was so excited that I could barely sleep. I must have woken up like 3 or 4 times. Every time I woke up, I would pray, 'Lord, please give my beloved a dream, because obviously I'm not having any." I was more awake than asleep that night. I finally got a 2 hour stretch of sleep, and it was long enough to have dreamt. lol However, I was a little embarrassed of my dream, and I wasn't all too excited to share it with my beloved. lol However, once he woke up and shared with me his dream, I realized we pretty much dreamt the same thing. When he shared his dream with me, and the repetition of it, I realized what the meaning behind both of our dreams. Then my dream didn't seem so bad. lol
I had a dream that I was being enticed to commit adultery. The horrible part was that in my dream I actually played around with the idea. The man in my dream was telling me how he would take care of me better than my beloved. He wanted me to meet him at his home. I made it to the address, and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Thankfully I never went up and knocked. I then woke up. Horrible, I know. I get a chill just thinking about it. ;0(
My beloved had three consecutive dreams. All three dreams were the same, as if to drive home the point. He dreamt, woke up, thought, "wow,that was bad" went back to sleep, dreamt, woke up, etc. three times. He dreamt that he committed adultery. His dreams were very vague, in that in the dream he just remembered how horrible. We felt as if the dreams meant that if we didn't go, he would fall. Not that we would fall and commit adultery in our marriage, but it would be as if we fell and committed adultery on the Lord. The Lord says he is our groom, and we are the bride. If we didn't go, then we would be choosing to "be with someone else." I hope that makes some sort of sense, and we don't sound like a bunch of crazies. lol Well, if we do, then we are crazy about the Lord. lol ;0) Amen!!

Job 33:15
14For God does speak—now one way, now another—

though man may not perceive it.

15In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men

as they slumber in their beds,

16he may speak in their ears

and terrify them with warnings,

17to turn man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

18to preserve his soul from the pit,^b

his life from perishing by the sword.^c

Well, there is more to write, but at this point I am back to a laying position on the sofa, and a headache is settling in. ;0( Thanks for all your questions, feel free to keep them coming.

High Tea

2009-10-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

This isn't what I was going to originally post about, but it will do. ;0) I don't know what happened. The children started to drop like flies today. We started out strong with school and therapy, and then one by one they started complaining that they didn't feel well. ;0( Since I didn't get around to finishing my post, I figured I would share pictures from our tea party yesterday.

I know I have mentioned on here before how important my beloved and I feel it is to play with our children. Family time has definitely changed around here. I remember when family time consisted of playing with blocks. Now we actually play games(Rummikub, Blokus, etc) that they beat me in. We have gone back and forth on whether to play competitive games with them. So far we haven't had any issues with pride in winning. We all seem to take it in stride. I will say it hasn't always been like that. Out of all of them, Micah had the hardest time "losing" in the beginning. It's been a great lesson for him. If he loses, he will now shake your hand and say, "good game" and mean it. lol He didn't always mean it. ;0) For instance, in Rummikub, when someone wins, that person normally helps the person he just won, to "come out" and win right after.

Our goal, and it's on our daily schedule, is to have family time everyday right before family worship, even if it's just 1/2 an hour. You'd be surprised how many things you can play in 1/2 an hour. I will say that it's not easy. It's a mighty challenge sometimes. It's toward the end of the day, and I just want to sit and do nothing sometimes.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling. Yesterday's family time consisted of having "high tea." Or shall I say "high juice," as none of us likes tea.

I am not sure if I ever posted pictures of our family tea times before, or if I only posted the one of the girls and I. Anyway, when my beloved has tea with us, he normally has a few characters that he plays. Britney was anxious to have some come for a visit. Thankfully two of them made it. lol ;0) One is a classy city man, and the other is a country boy. Mr. Frenchie didn't join us, he's my favorite. Oh-la-la ;0) I am sure you will be able to tell who is who by the way "they" are dressed.

Mr. Classy served us all our tea. He was such a gentleman. ;0)

Even the boys enjoyed themselves.

It's great to see our "teenager" not being too old to play tea with us. I love it!! I am not sure what happened to Britney's hat. I think the strings were missing. She looks like she had a doily on her head.

The boys had a little dress up thing going on as well. Who says only girls can dress up for tea?

Eating cake made it that much more fun!!

Obviously Mr. Classy was gone by this time of the evening. ;0( I will say Mr. Country had juice almost coming out of their noses. ;0) I love to see them laugh.

All in all we had lots of fun. Kayla couldn't resist snapping one of me having hat hair. ;0)

Too Good Not To Share ;0)

2009-10-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of writing today's post, but I have to finish doing school/therapy with the children first. However, I wanted to quickly share this. I thought it was too nice not to share. I know I love receiving love letters from my beloved, so this was pretty touching. ;0)

My Child,

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

A Stay-cation

2009-10-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

My beloved has been on a "stay-cation" for the last week, which would explain my lack of blogging. Today is his last day, and then things will return to normal tomorrow. ;0( We have been trying to take care of certain things for the mission, like our passports, and mixing it in with some fun things, like bowling. ;0)

We have been enjoying the beauty of the leaves changing. I will say it's a little sad to see the trees die. I overheard Micah telling Elijah the other day, "Elijah hurry, I just saw some leaves falling off the tree." He was sort of in awe. My poor little Floridian children.

Just ignore us. ;0) The tree behind us is my favorite. It almost seems like that entire side of the house is glowing.

MISSIONS UPDATE: I received an email from a member from our old church who has family in the country we are going to. I will say that her faith has lifted mine. ;0) Here is a snippet of her email. "I spoke with my aunt tonight and she told me a little about the house. My uncle intends to rent it. However they are Christian and I told them that you are missionaries. I started praying that you will have the house free; you do the same. God will answer our prayers. I will keep praying for that." If you feel so lead, please join us in prayer for this. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that at all.

Today is our last day of having my beloved to ourselves. We noticed that we tend to do a lot of things for the boys. Britney has requested to have a family tea party, which is nice, because it's kind of girly. I'll be sure to take some pictures. ;0)

Like I said, starting tomorrow things should get back to normal. If you can believe it, I actually have some normal posts half written. ;0)

A Praise

2009-10-14T23:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday's are always stinky blogging days for me. ;0) We have a small group Bible study type meeting at church, and by the time we get everyone settled in bed, etc. I'm ready to crawl in bed with them. On top of everything we were in charge of taking soup today. I made the one and only soup that I know how to make, a potato broccoli soup. Living in Florida didn't afford itself to many opportunities for making soup. I told them after today any soup I bring in is experimental. ;0) So when we got home we also had a little pick up to do in the kitchen.
One of the praises we shared during prayer time at church was that while we were on our way there, we spoke to a really good friend(Ilma) from our old church in Florida. Word is spreading around that our family is moving...AGAIN. lol She is the teacher for the preschool in the church. She was speaking to one of the mother's who came to pick up her son. While they were speaking about us moving, another mother came to drop off her daughter, and she joined the conversation. She asked Ilma where were we moving to. When Ilma told her, she said that she has family in the country we are moving to. They have TWO, not one, but two houses available. I know who she is, as I used to teach her daughter in my Sabbath school class. We will be calling her tomorrow to get more info. However, at this point, if God saw fit for it to work out like this, I don't care if it's a mud hut. lol God is amazing!! What's funny is that Ilma told me that this particular mother never goes in to drop her daughter off. She normally just watches her daughter from the door. However, this day she just happened to go in because she had some time to "chat." When I hopped on my blog just a few minutes ago, I realized Ilma left me a few messages in my chatbox on the side about the houses. ;0)
Like always, I have so much more to share. I have posts swirling around in my head. However, I really want to spend some time in prayer before going to bed, so it will have to wait. I feel like Jesus' death on the cross has hit me like a ton of bricks. I have always known the magnanimity of it, but it has just felt different lately. I'm not trying to find ways to sin going forward just so that I can claim His blood in the forgiveness of those sins, but it makes me want to carefully go through my day and ask for forgiveness of any wrong thoughts, looks, words spoken, etc. His precious, spilled blood will not be in vain in my life.

Bible Hangman ;0)

2009-10-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

I thought I would have had time to write a longer post, but alas, I didn't. ;0) We went for our passports today. YAY!! Anyway, I thought I would quickly share Kayla's love of Biblical genealogy. This past Sabbath it was cold and rainy out, so we played some indoor Bible games being that we couldn't go on a nature walk. We decided to play Bible Hangman. Well, we didn't want to draw a stick figure being hung. ;0) We decided to draw a Bible every time a wrong letter was given. We made it a 3D Bible so that we would have more chances to try to win. ;0) We were all coming up with normal Bible words like Frankincense, or some Biblical names like Moses, Abraham, etc.

But noooo....Kayla and her love of genealogy almost stumped us. My beloved was able to guess this one before the entire Bible had been drawn. To be honest, I still don't remember who Zaphnathpaaneah. Okay, I just checked, it's the name that Pharaoh gave Joseph before he gave him Asenath to wife.

Here she was going for it again.

HA!! This one I sort of guessed. I remembered seeing it, and the spelling, but I just couldn't remember where it was from. And I pronounced it wrong, to boot. It turns out he was the Assyrian king during Hezekiah's reign.

She loves all sorts of Bible trivia. I normally go to her when I have a question about who's father married so and so. So if you ever come over to my house to play any Bible games, stay away from Kayla.

p.s. I have a few more questions to answer regarding becoming missionaries, and also what our fleece was, and how the Lord answered. What I will try to do is write a normal post, and then at the end of the post, answer a question, so that the blog doesn't get overtaken with all things missionary. ;0) Even though missionary"stuff" is all good!!

No Mourning Allowed?!?

2009-10-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last night before going to bed I grabbed my Bible and I was lead to the book of Ezekiel. Hmm.... Yes, my thoughts exactly. ;0) Ezekiel isn't one of those quick read type of books. It's a pretty "meaty" book.

The area that caught my eye was Ezekiel 24:15-27. Stick with me here, please. To make a long story short, the Lord told Ezekiel he was going to take away the delight of his eyes(his wife) Not only did he tell him He was going to take his wife away, but He told him how to mourn. He told him no weeping or shedding of tears. He told him to groan quietly!! Wow. Sure enough his wife died and Ezekiel did as he was told. The Lord allowed this to happen because He was going to do something similar to the Israelites. He was going to desecrate their sanctuary(the delight of their eye) and they were to follow Ezekiel's example of mourning. The purpose of this was so that the Israelites could see that God was God. I copied the verses at the end of this post, just in case you want to read it for yourself.

This story kind of blew me away. I'm not too sure how I would react if the Lord took away my beloved so that I could be an example to a bunch of unfaithful people. I don't know, I think I would be a little bitter. ;0) I was amazed at Ezekiel's faithfulness. Not only that, I then started thinking of situations or trials that have taken place in my life. I'm not saying that the Lord allowed my trials or certain experiences to happen so that I can be an example to other people. However, it did make me wonder if there are areas in my life that maybe I could have or should have shared with certain people, and I haven't. Are there things that I have gone through, and the way I have dealt with it, might have helped other people? Are there things I haven't shared because of pride or embarrassment? I know some things in our lives are easier to share than others. My prayer today is that the Lord will bring whatever people he sees fit into my life so that I can share my trials or experiences with. It almost seems like then the trial will not have been in vain.

On the flip side, when going through a trial, it's made me aware that maybe we should reach out to other godly, Titus 2 type people who may be able to share with me how they have handled similar situations. To be honest...it may be kind of hard to believe, but I am a pretty "private" person. lol I know, I know, my entire life is on the internet. It's easy to share with others when you can hide behind a computer screen. ;0) In person I am very quiet when surrounded by more than 2 people. I am not one to open up and just share. These verses in Ezekiel have really left me thinking about sharing with others, from both sides of the coin.

p.s. Right before I hit "publish" I asked my beloved to give me a title. We were having a rough time coming up with something. I gave up on my beloved's suggestions after he came up with "Sharing is Caring." lol

Ezekiel 24:15-27

¹⁵ The word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁶ "Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. ¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners ."

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.
¹⁹ Then the people asked me, "Won't you tell us what these things have to do with us?"
²⁰ So I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me: ²¹ Say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do as I have done. You will not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners . ²³ You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of ^[a] your sins and groan among yourselves. ²⁴ Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.'
²⁵ "And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart's desire, and their sons and daughters as well- ²⁶ on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. ²⁷ At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD."

Q & A on Becoming Missionaries

2009-10-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

I got an email this morning with a lot of the questions that I have been receiving over the weekend. I figured I would just post them here, so that it might help. I will post a normal post in a little bit.

Q:Do you have your answer (from the fleece)?

A:Yes, we got our answer, and the answer is YES!! ;0) It was a very clear answer. If you want to know how, let me know.

Q:Will you be working directly with this ministry?

A:Yes, we will be working directly with this ministry.

Q:Doing what?

A:They will be expanding to a Christian TV station, an evangelism school, and also a health care center to teach people how to live a healthy lifestyle. They will be doing an agricultural type thing as well. They will be the "hub" of the surrounding countries. The missionary couple who came over asked him what he wanted his title to be. My beloved said it didn't matter He'd be happy to clean the toilets, as long as he was doing it for the Lord, and that's what the Lord wanted. However, I think he will be wearing many hats. There is a need in so many areas. He will probably preach, help with personnel type of things, get the word out in the community, Bible studies, pay bills(you have to go in person, no internet paying)etc.

Q:Will you be able to continue homeschooling?

A:Oh, yes. Definitely. I wouldn't want to sacrifice my children. I feel my first and main missionary job is in our home with our children. The family who was on the video, and came to our house answered a lot of our questions. I was happy to see that her role is exactly how I envisioned mine being, so I was thrilled to see that that is acceptable. My beloved will be the main one out in the "mission field" per se. I will be home with the children doing my normal thing, homeschooling, being a homemaker, and supporting him. If he needs help with something, I have no problem doing that. I do that now for him at work. I help him with expense reports or admin type of things. When he used to travel I would book flights, hotels, etc. Thankfully he doesn't have to travel anymore. He will probably be preaching over there a lot, so of course we would all go. So I don't think my role in the home will change much. However, we do want to get the ENTIRE family involved in community outreach. Starting small groups, sharing Jesus, etc.

Q:That's all the questions, for now. ;-)

A:If you have any more, feel free to ask away. ;0)

What's On My Needles

2009-10-08T22:06:00.000-07:00

When I was in New York with my sister, I remembered that my mother knew the basic stitches for knitting. I gave her my yarn and needles, and sure enough she took off. I was still practicing my stitches, so I was only making a dishcloth.

I'm happy it was just that, as we had a good laugh because my mother was doing something kind funky with the needles. I ended up with a nice "design" on my dishcloth. I showed her how I knit, and then we all blamed it on my great grandmother who must have taught her something wrong. lol

My sister was SO trying to figure it out. "Hmmm...maybe if I tilt my head it will make more sense." ;0)

My sister was all thumbs.

After much trying, I gave up. I know it shouldn't matter that she's a lefty, but she just wasn't getting it.

My beloved put it an order with me for this pretty cool hat. Now that we are moving someplace warm, I'm debating whether to even attempt it. By the time we get our passports and work visas, it might be 2 or 3 months. If I make it quickly, he could probably enjoy it for a bit.

I figured I would try something easy first, like a scarf that doesn't require any increasing or decreasing. I am working on this scarf, minus the pom poms on the end. ;0)

Sorry for the bad pictures. This is the epitome of laziness. The camera and cord are upstairs, so I just took these pictures with the laptop. Sorry. It doesn't help that I had on a black blouse with a black sweater(it's cold) and then the yarn is black. I'm hoping you can see the rib pattern a little bit.

Before I started learning how to knit, which was just about 2 months ago, I looked into the different types of knitting. There was continental knitting, which is when you put the yarn in your left hand, and American, you put the yarn in your right hand. After doing much research, I realized that people knit a lot faster when it's done the continental style. However, the American style looked a lot easier to learn. ;0) I practiced and practiced until continental felt "normal." Out of all the books and videos I looked at, I found a video on You Tube that explained both styles best, and showed the advantages of knitting continental style. With this video I learned the basic two stitches, which are knit and purl. I just kept stopping it, rewinding, and replaying as needed.

If you knit, which style do you prefer, American or Continental?

Last Update

2009-10-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

I wanted to sort of give a final update on the missionary saga going on in our lives. ;0) The missionary family came over yesterday. It was really great speaking to them. They answered all the questions we had. ;0) We answered some of the things they wanted to know about us, and it looks like it's a go. It's very clear to us that this is what the Lord wants us to do. It's so clear, that right now it feels like if we don't go out into the missionary field, we'd be sinning. So right now what we are praying about is if He wants us to go work with this family. We think so, but we don't want to go based on our thoughts. We want Him to show us clearly. So we're going to set a fleece(like Gideon did). We should have an answer by tomorrow, sunset. The family has a You Tube video on their project, and their story on how the Lord got them out there, etc. If I "know" you, meaning you have commented on here before, or I know you in real life, and you want me to send you the link, feel free to email me at w8ng4him@gmail.com, and I will send it right over. I'm just not sure I am ready to tell the world, (strangers), where we will be living. ;0) It is a third world country, and we will be back to FL weather. So much for my knitting project. I will share about that in my next post.

My beloved has taken off next week, as he has a lot of accumulated vacation time. We will use that time to apply for our passports. My beloved and Kayla have theirs already from when they went on their missionary trip to Peru, but the rest of us don't. We also have to go through all of our belongings, and try to sell or give away as much as possible. We will try to take the bare minimum with us. We also have to look into buying a container/crate to ship what little we do have, over. The good news is that I did ask about internet. They have DSL!! YAY!! WOOHOO!! Not bad for a third world country, huh? So I will be able to continue to blog. Well, I originally asked because I would need it in order to communicate with Britney's Neurodevelopmentalist, but of course a side thought was the blog. ;0)

So if any of you live near the Pacific NW, and you would like to buy some almost brand new sofas, brand new coats, boots, etc let me know. ;0) I will write another post shortly, as this was supposed to have been posted yesterday.

Alphabet Shapes And Then Some

2009-10-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, we are switching Britney over from being a righty to a lefty. Elijah has a really awkward pencil grip, and Micah is a lefty. If I give Micah something to write, he will do it with no problem. However, if you watch him write it, you will quickly realize that he forms his letters kind of "off." For some letters he starts from the bottom up, or from right to left. I'm not sure if it's because he's a lefty or not.

Either way, I realized that all three of them need some serious instruction in handwriting. I finally bit off on Handwriting Without Tears I purchased the little tiny blackboards, which my children correctly called them slates. We are big Little House on the Prarie and Ann of Green Gables fans. ;0) They practice the letter on here first, taking up the entire slate for each letter,

One of the things that HWT recommends are some wooden shapes to help them form their letters, before they practice them, so they can get a feel for them. However, the wooden shapes are a little pricey, and I figured two out of the three children are kind of old for any long term usage. They do give you a copy of them in one of the books so that you can make your own. However, I found a link to some really nice free ones online that some creative person made. I like their shapes more than the book, even though they are very similar. I printed them, laminated them, and then cut them out.

My beloved so lovingly tested them out. What I like about the free ones is that you can create lower and upper case letters. With the shapes in the book you can only create upper case ones.

This morning Elijah found them even before I had a chance to introduce it to them.

Micah quickly came running when he heard Elijah saying, "look, I did another one."

All in all I say they were a hit.

On a completely separate note, our landlords came over to do some work that needed to be done on the gutters. My beloved went out to help them. They are the cutest little couple ever. They have been together since they were teenagers. They are now maybe in there late 60's, early 70's. I know I haven't had a chance to share any pictures of where we live, but this is what it looks like no matter what window you look out of. ;0) All four sides of the house has a view like this.

I remember when I was unpacking, I was in the house/on the property for about a week straight getting everything organized. We had to go to the "city," which is where we were renting a tiny little house for a couple of months while we figured out where the country areas were. As soon as we drove out of this area, I felt as if everyone/everything was moving SO fast. I wanted everyone to slow down just a little. It's very peaceful here. I will be a little sad to go if indeed the Lord opens up the door for us to leave, but not sad enough to tell Him, "no, I want to stay." ;0) We have 3 owls that live on the property, and we were told they have lived here for years. I will write more about them another time. They don't like my beloved. lol Another time, another time. ;0)

My landlady spoils me rotten when it comes to bringing me little gifts. She is an avid gardener, and always brings me some lovely arrangements every time she visits. These dahlias and chrysanthemums...well, everything is from her garden. To be honest, I didn't even know the names of them until she gave me a botany lesson yesterday morning. ;0)

She also gave me some tart apples from her tree. Last time she gave me regular ones and attached a recipe for stewed apples. I'm not quite sure yet what to do with tart ones. She did tell me to be on the look out for worms, as they are organic. ;0)

Well, I'm sorry this post wasn't really interesting. I really just wanted to share the link for the alphabet shapes. Enjoy!!

p.s. Our landlords came over to finish working outside today, but my beloved had some customer visits. Kayla offered to help them. She was out there with them for over 3 hours. Every time I checked on them, they were all talking up a storm. She told Kayla, "one thing I have noticed about you and other homeschooled children is that you/they have no problem talking to people of any age." So much for homeschooled children being unsocialized, huh?

Missionary Prayer Request Update

2009-10-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I figured I would update those of you who have been lifting us up in prayer concerning becoming missionaries. Just to recap, we filled out the application last Saturday. On Sunday they contacted our references. I think that was the last I had shared. This Saturday we received an email stating that they were going to forward our application on to the different missions within the ministry. So it would get sent out to different parts of the world, wherever they have missions. I guess then those missionaries, touched by the Holy Spirit, who were impressed that we could be of some benefit, would contact us. On Sunday we were contacted by a couple.....the couple we met last Sabbath at church, who were visiting from the field. They will be stopping by for a visit on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of us serving over where they were. Wow!! Talk about everything moving along pretty quickly. To be honest, I am excited, and equally nervous. Not nervous in a bad way, but just to see how the Lord works everything out.
I have more to share, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I have to figure out a better time to blog. I keep leaving it for the end of the day, and by that time my brain is fried. I'm off to read, and then to bed.

Song of Songs

2009-10-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

This morning after my beloved and I prayed, he hopped in the shower, and I grabbed my Bible. I asked the Lord to please give me something to read. I opened my Bible and it landed on Song of Songs the ending of Chapter 4, and the beginning of Chapter 5. I almost closed it, thinking, "there is nothing meaty for me in there for today." I wanted something to give me another boost to continue on with my day. Just as I was about to close it, I read something that caught my eye. I decided just to read it quickly. After I read it, I thought it would be a good idea to answer the questions posed.
Song of Songs 5:9 How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so?
During my next break, I am going to sit down and give these questions some thought. I figured I would share, just in case anyone else would like to do it as well. Maybe you can even make up a little card and share with your beloved your answers. I am pretty sure that is what I am going to do. I just have to keep my beloved from reading my blog until that is done. lol ;0)

Magnetic Calendar

2009-10-01T19:25:00.001-07:00

Okay, I started off with a magnetic roll that had a sticky back and a sheet of numbered stickers.

A 12x12 frame.

And a metal sheet that had the days of the week. They sell plain ones as well, so you can try other things aside from calendars.

This was the most tedious part. ;0) I stuck all the numbers needed for a month. One at a time, I peeled the stickers and carefully positioned them onto the magnetic roll. Then I cut them out.

Here it is with the days of the month stuck on. Sorry, it was kind of hard to get a good picture.

They sell premade inchies. However, you can make them out of cardstock, chipboard, matboard, or any other similar medium. I didn't get a picture of this entire process, so I will just try to explain it. I stamped the appropriate letters for the month onto colored cardstock. Then I cut the letter with some of the cardstock so that it measured a one inch square. I glued them onto an inchie so that it gives it a little bit of a raised effect. I then stuck a piece of magnet on the back.

And TA-DA!! You have a reusable calendar. You just have to organize the days to match the month, and obviously change the month. The boys have been having fun rearranging the letters. I did orange to match the Autumn colors. I figured I could do brown for November, etc.

Since it is a frame, you can hang it up somewhere, or prop it up with the little flap that's in the back. I was thinking of getting some pictures of clouds, rain, wind blowing, etc. so that the boys can put up the one for the appropriate weather on a daily basis. We could just move the letters for the month a little closer together. I purchased everything above at my local craft store.

p.s. I was able to do about 80% of everything on my list from earlier today, which was great. I didn't get a chance to email everyone I wanted to, and the laundry got folded, but not put away. I had someone ask if that was all for today. Yes, it was. Unfortunately, a lot of those things get done on a daily basis. I would say the only things off the top of my head that don't get done daily is the wiping of the glass on the doors, that would be weekly. Now you know why I SO look forward to the Sabbath. Aside from one full day of spending time with the Lord, I get to forget all about that list. ;0)

My To Do's

2009-10-01T12:08:00.003-07:00

The below is an email that I sent over to Heavenly Homemakers(a yahoo group I moderate that we use to encourage each other to get homemaking type things done) a little while ago. If you scroll down a little, I wrote "Blog- write post" in a larger font and in purple. I promise to get to it today. Who knows, maybe along with my post I can list the below list with DONES next to everything

What I wrote:

I have a lot to do today. Some of the things on this list are already done, I just haven't had a chance to update. But for now, here it is. Even if no one is working with me, I SO need the accountability to get this done. I will have enough accountability just crossing things off and sending it in. My beloved just left for a meeting. He had a lunch from 11:45 to 12:45, and then he was going to buy me some "winter" shoes. Everything I own is open, either in the front or back. YIKES!! Thankfully he has very good taste, and I am sure I will like whatever he gets. lol He kept telling me to go buy myself some, and I kept putting it off, so he's taking matters into his own hands. lol

have personal worship DONE

pray with my beloved DONE

iron my beloved's slacks/shirt DONE

go to the supermarket DONE

make lunch

email Brit's neurodevelopmentalist

email Mona

email Nicole

email Angie

LAUNDRY

fold load 1

fold load 2

put away load 1

put away load 2

wash load 3

dry load 3

fold load 3

put away load 3

wash load 3

dry load 3

fold load 3

put away load 3

Blog-write post

MASTER BEDROOM

make bed DONE

put away clothes

clear off desk

clear off dresser

clear off nightstand

put away iron board/iron

vacuum master bedroom

shampoo master bedroom

MASTER BATHROOM
wash dog bed
scrub down bathtub
wipe down sitting area
scrub down shower
clear off stand 1
clear off stand 2
empty trash can
scrub down toilet
sweep
mop

sweep stairs

sweep upstairs hallway

clear off desk in dining room

quick check in living room

OFFICE/SEWING ROOM

clear off sewing desk

put entry rug back

put living area rug back

clear off breakfast nook table

wipe down breakfast nook table

SCHOOL ROOM

clear off ottoman table

wipe down ottoman table

clear off piles of paper/books on floor

redo workboxes

vacuum area rug

KITCHEN

unload dishwasher

load dishwasher

clear off counters

wipe down counters

clear off island

wipe down island

wipe down stove top

sweep entire downstairs

mop entire downstairs

wipe down

french door 1

french door 2

french door 3

french door 4

side door 1

side door 2

front door

BOY'S ROOM

check

vacuum

SCHOOL

I believe in the theory Better Late Than Early by Dr. Raymond Moore, but they are really asking for "school" so we are doing very little in each of the subjects they asked for. I'm trying to make it "fun" with games and such, instead of just sit down work, which is what they are really asking for. Little do they know they will have tons of that later on in life. lol

MICAH/ELIJAH-SOME FOR BRIT

Handwriting w/out Tears-Micah/ Elijah/ Britney

Phonics Micah/ Elijah

Reading Micah/ Elijah

Autumn Lapbook Micah/ Elijah/ Britney

Math-U-See Micah/ Elijah--maybe Britney

Stick Figure Bible-Micah/Elijah/ Britney

KAYLA-

spelling cards-Sonlight

Health-Sonlight

Math-Sonlight

Nature-Sonlight

Bible-Sonlight

Timeline

Math- Math-U-See

BRITNEY'S THERAPY ACTIVITIES

Occlude right ear

Mozart

Fine Motor

Print & Proper Grasp

Spatula Tap

Caterpillar Squeeze

Hands-deep pressure, etc

ACWS

Repeat Sentences exact

Crumple paper left

Arm Extensions

Verbal Finger Math

ACWS

Arm Extensions

Auditory/Visual Digit Spans

Mental Math

Cross Pattern Back

Fine Motor

Tape General Info

Skip Counting

Progressive ACWS

Cross Pattern Back

Math Facts in a Flash

Rhythmic Moves 1-6

Windshield Wipers

New Practice Reader D

1/2 Pushups and Rock

Hands and Knees

Think it Say it

Hop and Kick left

Read & Expression

Skip Counting

Fusion and Pursuit

Circular/Hayes Math

Tiger Creep

Hop & Kick/left

New Practice reader E

Fist Full of Coins

Skip Counting

Circular Hayes Math

Print and Proper Grasp