Happy Valentine's Day

Just wanted to share a little bit of our day.  We are a family that enjoys traditions and for some of my children those have become very important.  What is sweet to me is when they are old enough to also help carry out the traditions.

We started the day at church.  After lunch, I layed down to rest and ended up taking a long nap.  While I was sleeping, some of the others in the family went about doing things that perhaps I should have been doing.  One of our traditions is a scavenger hunt.  We do this several times a year and it's always a fun thing to do - both the hunt and the surprise at the end. 

We also have pizza - a heart shaped pizza for dinner.  I figure for any future son-in-law, I've set the bar not very high in terms of a sweet tradition.  For my boys, they may have to work a little harder to make the day seem romantic.  LOL

Isaiah helped me to make the pizzas this year.  We make one into a heart shape and write "I Love You" on it.

We all thought it was yummy.

The big surprise though was that Eliana actually ate some of it!!!  Yippee!!!  Moments like this give me great hope.  Hope that one day meals will be a little easier and we won't have to look for alternate foods when we are eating things that are a challenge for her.  I have several with various "food issues" and so making progress with any of them is cause for celebration!

Rebecca planned the scavenger hunt.  She wrote up all the clues.

She also made goodie bags and purchased the treats to go in them.

Along with the bags were cards that she had made by hand as well.  Are you impressed with her yet?  Eliana shows her appreciation.

Isaiah is also one that really loves traditions and also the giving of gifts.  He bought donuts to share with everyone and made this lovely, sweet display for the family.

Hope your day was sweet and spent with those you love!

Blessings
Leslie

Valentines Tea Party

Rebecca wanted to host a Valentine's Tea Party this year for some friends.  She did everything for the party.  She made the invitations, planned the menu, purchased the food, made the food, decorated the table - everything!  She is a pretty amazing young lady and I love seeing her gifts and how she shares them with others.  She most definitely has the give of giving!!!  She is also very creative, thoughtful and interested in blessing others.  A very sweet combination.

The party was planned for Saturday and we hoped that the snow forecast would not interfere.  Thankfully, there was a good snow - enough to play with in the morning, nothing on the streets to interfere with getting around and mostly gone at our house by the afternoon.

This is the beautiful table decorated for our guests. 

Here are the foods Rebecca prepared.  On the far left are sugar cookies with sprinkles.  In the center are cookies with a citrus glaze on top (so very yummy!).  On the right, fresh blueberry bread that was still warm when we ate it. 

Continuing around the table, we see the bread again on the left, then cucumber sandwiches (one of my favorites!) and then homemade fortune cookies!  She made these with a homemade dough, put the fortunes inside and sprinkled the outside with sugar and sprinkles.  Fun!

Can you believe she made even more?!  Chocolate covered strawberries, ham and cheese sandwiches and some m & m's.  It was all delicious too!

We enjoyed the time with our friends.  The boys didn't join us, but did enjoy some of the goodies that Rebecca made.

Thank you Rebecca for planning a sweet afternoon for the girls.  It was a fun time had by all!

We had planned on Eliana joining us for the tea party, but it happened during her nap time.  No need to worry though as Rebecca would never leave her out of the fun.  She had her own little tea party for two.  This one was even a dress up party!

Eliana was delighted.  I love that Rebecca went to the trouble to make this special for her too with a small tea set and even the clothes!

Thanks Rebecca for a wonderful afternoon!

Love you,

Mommy

 

 

 

A look back over the week

Thought I would share a few more of our week-end happenings from a week ago and over the past week.  I attended a homeschool exhibition.  It was local vendors with booths.  Things like music lessons, karate, science, math, Discovery Toys, Usborne, learning disabilities helps and more.  It was interesting to go around and talk to people.  I didn't buy anything, but I did win something!

I won a science birthday party.  It's value is $175!  I have to confess that I've wondered why me?  I really enjoy birthday parties and have never had anyone come in or gone out for a party.  This will be something totally different for us - and sounds like a lot of fun too!  I'm know it will be a blessing and I'm looking forward to seeing more of God's plan in this.

The boys got haircuts.  One of them convinced Roger that  mohawk was a good idea.  LOL

On Sunday, I hosted a Mom's meeting for our FIAR group.  The topic was encouragement.  This is a time of year when many of us can feel depleted and burned out.  Needing encouragement.  We've done different things in the past and I was really struggling with what to do this year.  I don't really feel like my tanks are very full and wasn't sure what *I* had to give.  I just put that out there to my friends though.  We suggested a few things and then I just waited to see what happened. 

Several friends brought treats - homemade gingerbread, homemade truffles and chocolate cupcakes.  (I wish I had gotten a picture.)  We had some Ghiradelli chocolate.  Rebecca made some yummy cookies for us too.

We ended up all sitting around my kitchen table - it was cozy - and just talking.  Nothing planned.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Just friends.  Women sharing what was going on.  Taking time to laugh together.  It was good for my heart.  I'm thankful to have this sweet group of friends.  We also decided to draw names and choose one person to pray for over the next month.  I'm thankful for this opportunity to be intentionally praying for a friend.  It is always a blessing to know you are being prayed for too.

Later Sunday we had a very small Super Bowl party.  Food.  The game.  The commercials.  Fun with friends.  It was a nice day.  A full day.  I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I fell asleep on the sofa after the game and was too tired to get up and go to bed.  It did make for a longer night's sleep than I usually get though and that is good. 

During the week we enjoyed a couple of meals related to our schoolwork.  Rebecca cooked a meal tied with her geography study.  We picked to do this meal on the 10th for two reasons.  First, it included a cake.  Second, it was the birthday of the little girl for whom we are prayer warriors.  We have been recently matched with Arianna and our job is to pray for her until she find a family. 

Meet Arianna. 

Isn't she beautiful?  The little floof of hair she has sticking up reminds me of Eliana when she was little.  Arianna has just turned two.  We celebrated her life and prayed for her.  We are also hoping and praying that her next birthday will be celebrated with her family!

We also enjoyed a very delicious FIAR meal this week.  The boys helped make foccacia bread.

It was very good and something we definitely need to do again.

We also had linguine with clam sauce.  Everyone loved it.  Eliana devoured it!!!  That was a surprise.  She has some issues with food textures and it's always a sweet surprise to find a new food that she enjoys.  Pasta dishes seem to be at the top of the list for her!  (I really love them too.)

More on this week -end as I get some photos uploaded. 

Blessings

Leslie

FIAR Art and Music Show

Well, I'm going to try to type this again as I just spent a long time on it - and lost it.  I hate it when that happens.  I'm sure that there should be a lesson in here somewhere, but I'm too tired to look for it at the moment.

Today our FIAR group had an Art and Music show.  We've done something similar in the past, but have never made it a yearly event.  It's been awhile since the last one and this seemed a good year to do it - and it was!  Music was a new component.  It was a sweet thing to be able to experience the musical talents of the children performing as this isn't something we have ever been able to do before.  It was a big hit!  (And one of mine came home and has a renewed interest in learning to play the piano!)  We were able to hear performances on violin, piano, clarinet and bells.  They all did a great job!  I had no idea of the talents!

We were hosted in a local church.  We had tables along the sides of the church on which we displayed artwork.  We milled around looking at various things displayed - and what a display!  Here is a partial ilsting of some of the things displayed - comic book (completely created by the child!), origami, miniatures, mask, sculpture, drawings, paintings, books, 3-D creations, latch-hook, engraving, paper mache, history displays and MORE!  It was really great.  I wish I could show it all too you, but will limit it to mostly mine as I'm not sure others would want theirs displayed.

This is from our co-op last week.  Notice that Elvis is on the far right and the other buy is looking a little like his creator.  (Not the best angle for seeing his spikey-hair, but it's there.  I'll post a comparison picture soon.)

I love this picture.  The medium used was creamy crayons which are similar in texture and brilliance to pastels and very easy to work with.  Daniel was excited to make this and is looking forward to doing more.  I hope he'll be happy to see it in his workboxes tomorrow.

This is also a co-op art project from Snowflake Bentley.  The blocks above the pictures are what was used to create the pictures.

Rebecca shared some of the pieces she entered into the State Fair.  On the left is the waffle breakfast and the right is her jointed doll.  In the center is a piece of birthday cake that Daniel made using Bendaroos.  Can you see some of the origamin in the background?  The blue one is a ball within a ball and the larger purple one is two intertwined rings.  Really cool!

Isaiah enjoyed sharing his FIAR notebook.  We keep all of our work for the year in one notebook and just add to it as we go along. 

Had to share this neat display from  The Pumpkin Runner.  This was not ours, but I didn't think she'd mind us sharing.  I've blurred names though

 

Just a picture of my littlest cutie. 

We had lunch and play time at a nearby park.  While we were at the drivethrough figuring out our order, i was clarifying requests.  At one point I said "double cheeseburger" and Eliana tried to repeat it!  I was stunned and pleased.  Her language seems to be taking off right now and it's really fun to hear her trying to say more words.  She doesn't often say more than one at a time though, so this was exciting. 

Another fun day with friends.  I'm thankful for this FIAR group!

Blessings

Leslie

Krispy Kreme Challenge

Some of you may have heard of the Krispy Kreme Challenge.  I hadn't until my oldest son told me about it a few months ago.  It is a local race - a very popular one - that he wanted to enter.  He got signed up in time to join the race.  There was a cut-off at 6000 people as they just couldn't handle more than that.

So, what is the challenge?  Can you read the details on the shirt?

2400 Calories.  12 doughnuts.  4 miles.  1 hour. 

The day of the race was cold.  We were forecasted for rain and possible snow (we did get a little that day).  Although we wanted to watch him run, most of us opted to stay home and keep warm and dry.  The race was on the campus of NC State.

First the runners ran 2 miles.  Then they picked up a dozen doughnuts.

Then they ate a dozen doughnuts.  Yes, a dozen!

Can you imagine the chaos of this many people eating doughnuts?

It's amazing that Roger was able to find Christopher.

He said he enjoyed the first 4 doughnuts and then it was hard.  I can't even imagine.  (And don't want to think about trying.)  I asked him when he finished if he thought he would do it again.  He said to ask him in a few months when he forgot about how bad he felt after eating all those doughnuts. 

Yes, there were a lot of people getting sick.  It was all for a good cause though - the Children's Hospitals in North Carolina.  That is a cause close to my heart. 

Roger even brought home a few extra dozen for the rest of us to enjoy.

Blessings

Leslie

 

Angelo Co-op - FIAR Volume 4

We are studying Angelo this week and had another great co-op day with our friends. 

We started out with reading the story and then the children talked about gifts.  God has given each of us gifts.  It is a life-long process I think to find your gifts.  Some you discover early and others you find as you experience and go through life.  I think it's exciting to see the children learning and growing and searching for their gifts.  I sometimes wish it were easier to figure out what your gifts are.  I read something recently that said you would recognize your gifts as those are the things in your life that bear fruit.  What a perfect concept.  What do you think?  Enough of my ponderings and back to co-op.



Next was a quick trip through history via art and music.  The children were going to travel through time learning and exploring the Roman Empire and modern Italy.  (The story takes place in Italy.)  Isaiah was able to correctly identify it on the map.



The children were able to select cards with a picture and a name on it.  Another child was the reader and they read clues.  The children then tried to figure out who or what was being described.  There was even a timer to make sure that this time travel trip didn't take too long.  (The kids liked taking turns with the timer.) 



What a fun way to learn about art, history and music through the centuries!  My children would never have gotten all of this without the benefit of a co-op as this is not my strength and I don't do well in teaching it.  They made an impressive time line.



After having talked about various artists and the styles for which they were famous, it was the children's turn to make art.  Today they worked with clay and were given the choice of sculpting, adding details with jewels, stones and tools, fresco and more.



They each took their time and made some neat projects. 



The last lesson was on bones.  The children learned about how bones are made and how they function - and how they are different in a bird than they are in humans. 



This wasn't just a conversation though as they each become a part of the bone (I'm sorry I don't remember the exact scientific terms) and acted out the part.



They had the opportunity to look at a real bone (chicken bone from the butcher) to see how the lattice inside the bone looked.  I loved the look in this picture of someone that has perhaps seen enough.  I can totally relate to that!



We ended with a beautiful snack plate (of which I got no pictures).  Antipasto with meat, cheese, olives, tomatoes, bread and tiramisu for dessert. 

It was another fun day.  I'm so thankful for the exposure my children have to things that I wouldn't be able to provide.  I love seeing the giftings of my friends displayed in the things that they choose to teach on.  I think I say this every time, but I'm so very thankful to be a part of this co-op!

Blessings
Leslie

Vote Today!

I just wanted to share this with those who are reading.  I'd love it if you could go and vote.  All three players have chosen worthwhile groups to benefit from the money.  This one obviously hits close to home for us.  The goal of JDRF is finding a cure.  There have been great strides made, but still much left to learn. 

I don't know how much I've shared, and I truly didn't understand before now.  Diabetes is a horrible disease.  It is relentless and never gives you a break.  There are so many things affected, and yet we are trying as  hard as possible to keep things "normal" while still working to make it the best as we can for our family.  All that to say that the idea of a cure is a very sweet one indeed.  It's something I hope to see in my lifetime.

VOTE TODAY!

“My season ended one game earlier than I had hoped it would.  But I’m counting on you to help me get one last win this year.  Go to www.nfl.com/PepsiRefresh and vote for me and JDRF in the Pepsi Refresh Project Challenge, and we can fund $100,000 in research for a cure for type 1 diabetes.” – Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

Pepsi has chosen JDRF as one of three participants in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge, an online campaign to fund worthy non-profit projects that impact children nationally.  Three charities are aligned with three National League Football League players.  Until midnight tonight, people can vote on the NFL's website and via text message (text ‘MARK’ to PEPSI (73774) for one of those three players, with the player/charity receiving the most votes over the course of the week receiving a $100,000 grant. 

If you wouldn't mind taking a minute to vote, we would appreciate it. 

ETA:  I've tried to work on the link.  I am not getting it to embed properly and although I've tried several times, it isn't work for me either.  I'm sorry.  I know this is more work, but if you copy and paste the link that should work fo you.  Thanks for considering it.  

Thanks,

Leslie

Snow pictures

We finally had a good snow here.  It seems like it's been awhile since we had one that we could really enjoy.  It started snowing on Friday and continued through Saturday.  Everyone was thrilled.  We got ready to go out early in the day.

It was cold on Sat as the snow was still coming down.  Our driveway ended up being the gathering spot since it was at the top of the hill.  That was fun!  (This picture was early in the day before we had many people out.)

Sledding was something the whole family enjoyed.  Well, except for me as I didn't try it.

Just loved the expressions in this one!

Tasting snow is fun - especially when you don't have to worry about carbs!  We had lots of snow cream too which unfortunately does have carbs.  We found that Joshua had many lows after playing out in the snow.  Sometimes he went low even hours after having come in.  Always something new to figure out!

Sunday was a warmer and sunnier day.  Made for a really fun day to play!  Lots of sledding again. 

Snowball fights were also fun.  One of our neighbors had a couple of snowball makers and those were great!

Check out the size of that snowball!

Cute snowmen - and really cute girls!

All in all, it was a fun couple of days.  It has closed down a lot of our city with schools being out for 3 days.  (We have not closed our school.  I reminded them that we had most of December off.)  We had a dr appt cancelled yesterday too.  I think all should be running again tomorrow, though we may get hit again this week-end.  I'm hoping not though as Christopher is running in a race then. 

Thanks God for a beautiful view of your handiwork.  We enjoyed it!

Hope you're having a great week!

Blessings

Leslie