Merry Christmas to all. . . .

We have had a wonderful celebration of our Savior's birth complete with a birthday cake.

We are all very tired as sleep did not come easy last night.

Hannah Montana

Hannah just got a Hannah Montana wig and looks rather cute in it.

Face Painting

Abby went with a friend to a pizza parlor in town where they do face painting. She is a "Christmas Tiger" and her friend is the "Grinch"

Another project done.

I just got Mom's lap blanket finished. Our Shih Tzu, Mocha, thinks it is his.

The mess before the celebration!

We sat down in the middle of the living room floor yesterday to wrap gifts to be sent to our families. Bryan is taking the picture and yes he helped wrap. He also took them to the post office. What a sweetie.


Sunday, the girls and I went over to a friends house to make Christmas candy and cookies.


This is the lapghan I made for Bryan's mom. It is made with Sensations Rainbow Classic Yarn- Bright Multi and worked up really soft and warm. Also pictured is Bryan's new recliner.

12 blogs of Christmas

I am participating in the "12 blogs of Christmas" contest sponsored by Homeschool Estore.
Here is my contest entry for the blog "Just Some Stuff" by tnmomwith3kids

1. How many children do you have / homeschool? We have 3 beautiful girls and homeschool them all.
   
2. How long have you been homeschooling? Our oldest daughter will be 12 in February and we have been homeschooling forever (it seems).
   
3. Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school? They have always been homeschooled.
   
4. Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation? Yes (Lord willing)
   
5. Do you belong to a co-op? Yes
   
6. Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule? It depends on how the year has gone. We try to school all year long taking breaks when needed.
   
7. Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials? We don't use a lot of textbooks. We like notebooking, lapbooking, and hands-on projects.
   
8. Are field trips included in your school plans, or are they just family time? Since we try to capture 'teachable moments' anywhere, we try to include field trips in our plans.
   
9. Do you and your kids do crafty stuff together for school time? Yes.
   
10. Would you consider everyday household life stuff ‘home ec’? Absolutely!!!
    
11. Do you have any advice for new homeschoolers? When you think you can't go on, remember that we have all been there (or are there at this moment). #1 piece of advice: Have a support system of other homeschoolers and don't be afraid to talk to them about troubles they have. Some families look like "perfect homeschooling families" on the outside but you'd be surprised to find out that they have bad days (weeks, months), too.
    
12. Do you have advice for homeschoolers with little ones under foot? Include them as much as they want to be included. Give them safe things to play with while schooling. If they are having a bad day use it to show the older ones how to care for an upset little one.
    

Ladies Christmas Tea

Here are some pictures of our recent Christmas tea held at our church.

Day before Thanksgiving...

and all through the house the children are running and creating a rouse.


The sun is shining, I have pumpkin cranberry bread in the oven and stuff on the table waiting to make my Pumpkin layer cheesecake. There are yummy smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin.

Picture of me.

This is a picture of me on my 40th birthday. (I think) Paula over at On A Rainy Night challenged us to post a picture of ourselves.

Rainy days and nights...

It rained really hard last night. I hope we don't get water backed up into our basement (again). I guess that's what you get having a basement in the Willamette Valley.

Today is my brother and sister's (not twins) birthday. He's 42 and she's 38. Wow, seems just like yesterday we were walking through the snow to the school bus stop.

Today's lesson . . .

How to wash dishes by hand. Haven't done that in years. Our dishwasher quit running yesterday so we will use this as a 'teachable moment'.

Our middle daughter just turned 10 last Saturday. I'm still trying to recover from the sleepover! I'm just not as young as I used to be.

Corn Maze & pumpkin picking...

It has been a couple of weeks since our outing; but, here are some photos of us at Davis Family Farm in Corvallis. We went out with a few friends and the kids played on the hay pyramid; we went through the corn maze (and got lost); and then sojourned out to the pumpkin patch to select just the right pumpkins.

Hey, my first award!

Thank you Paula (over at On A Rainy Night) for my first Blogger award. Paula, you are so special to me and I am honored that you thought of me! This award was created by Sultana to honor those people who make the blogging community better. The one's who always stop by your site for a little visit and leave a comment. You know, the people that make you feel that someone is out there and that they care.

Women's retreat

I spent last weekend with women from our church at our annual Women's Retreat. It was a great time of worship, fellowship, prayer and Bible study. We stay at Aldersgate Conference Center in Turner, Oregon. This is a picture from inside the 'Fireside' Room where we held our meetings. A good time was had by all.

Crochet projects

I've been busy making things. This is my triangle fringed prayer shawl. It was fun to make and it's cozy.

Camping

We decided to brave the weather and take a little camping trip last week. There were two days of good weather stuck in between not-so-good days. We went to Cascadia State Park just outside of Sweet Home. It was beautiful; really cold at night; but, well worth the trip. The girls played in the river and caught a crawdad, tiny fish and a baby Garter snake.
This is my husband trying to warm up by the early morning fire. Doesn't he look like a camper-dude?


We were visited by a Spotted Owl who kept eyeing our dog until Mocha got up and the owl saw he was too big to carry off. He sat in a tree not 5 feet from us next to the picnic table. It was really neat.

It didn't rain on us this time!!!

The Name Game...

The Name Game...

Copied (with general permission of course!) from Paula at On A Rainy Night

The Name Game

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Tippy Astro

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Cheesecake Oatmeal

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
M-LEA

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Purple Pig

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Kaye LaGrande

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Lea-Me

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Yellow Margarita

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Walter Wilbur

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Lavender Dove

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Kay Henry

And a few more…

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Falk Fresno

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Autumn Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Peach Tankie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Banana Aspen

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Crochet Sunny Tour

16. YOUR WRITING PERSONA NAME: (The name your parents "almost" gave you + your Grandmothers maiden name)
'I don't know' Armon

Well that was interesting....

The braces saga continues

Went to the orthodontist yesterday. Had my wire changed and made impressions for a bite plate and inserted spacers around my bottom molars (ouch!). This bite plate is supposed to sit on my upper palate and open my bite. I get it and my bottom braces on in 2 weeks.

Back to School

Here it is the first day of the 2007/08 school year. Not much else to say.

Camping

The girls and I went camping with a friend and her 3 children from Sunday night until about Noon on Wednesday. It rained really hard all day Monday. Imagine that, 6 children, ages 7, 7, 9, 9, 11, & 11, with leaking tents, soaking wet... Tuesday was warm and sunny. We spent the day at Foster Lake and then the river. We came home Wednesday tired & sore. Forgot to take my camera so no pictures.

Can you believe....

We are more than half way through August??????? We've got school scheduled to start in 2 weeks. I'm excited about the new school year! Hope the girls are.

The girls and I are going camping with a friend and her 3 children from Sunday to Wednesday while Bryan stays home and does a few projects. We're praying it doesn't rain. We couldn't have picked a weekend with worse weather. Oh well, it is supposed to be warm enough.

5 Things Meme

I was tagged by Paula over at On A Rainy Night.... to join in the "5 Things" meme.
Here we go:

5 THINGS I LIKE:
Hummingbirds flitting around
Sitting on the front porch with my Love watching the sunset
Family BBQ's
Schooling my girls
Fall time

5 THINGS I WAS DOING 10 YEARS AGO:
Turned 30
Being Pregnant with child #2
Living in Pendleton, Oregon
Moving into our new house
Working part-time as a Juvenile Probation Counselor


5 FAVORITE SNACKS
Pudding cups - butterscoth!
Dark Chocolate Truffels!!!
Ice Cream
Chips & Salsa (don't tell my orthodontist)
BBQ French Fries from C-ZR's drive-in in Elgin ~ Yeah, Paula ;o)

5 SONGS YOU KNOW ALL THE WORDS TOO;
The Devil Went Down To Georgia - Charlie Daniels
Almost any Alabama song
Country Boy- John Denver
Any of the children's musical songs from the past 5 years!!!
I Can Only Imagine - MercyMe


5 THINGS YOU WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN:
Plaid pants
Size 4 pants
Satin bell bottom pants with Shawn Cassidy's picture on the leg
Any other bell bottom pants
Moon boots - remember those?


5 THINGS YOU WOULD DO IF YOU WERE A MILLIONARE:
Move to the country
Buy a Hummer
Buy a Mustang
Buy a cabin at Wallowa Lake
Buy a vacation home in Hawaii

I tag YOU!!

Pay It Forward...

Here's a great challenge I found and joined over on Paula's blog.

Here's how this one works:
1. Sign up here in my comments section as one of three people to join me in this challenge.
2. I will make you a handmade gift and send it on it's merry way to you. (I have one year to complete this task. I think I can do that.)
3. You will post this Pay It Forward challenge on your blog and also make a gift for your three people. You will recieve one gift from me, and pay it forward by making gifts for three others.

I hope there are 3 of you who would like to join me.

County Fair Time

Took the girls to the Linn County Fair today as it was free admission day. Brought back memories of me and my best friend Paula running around our county fair. It's not quite the same to attend a fair as it is to be involved in one.

I did partake in my yearly dose of pink cotton candy.

Where's Ty?

We have Extreme Makeover: Home Edition just outside of Corvallis this week. We went to the jobsite on Monday to see them clean up the demolition. It was really exciting to see all the blue shirts. We've signed up to help but haven't gotten a call yet. We're going to head back to see if we can help build or something. I can't wait to see the house. Reveal is on Saturday.

HOT!!!

"Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" A question I ask regularly, usually to the answer of, "It's you." But, it really IS hot now with several days at near 100*. PTL we decided to get an air conditioner.

It is interesting to be 40 years old and not one of the 'young ladies' at church. You know how the 'older ladies' are supposed to "be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:3-5) ? It was a shock to realize that when the 'older ladies' were talking about the 'young ladies' they weren't talking to me. 'Cause I'm in the 'middle-aged' group. WOW!!! Just my thoughts for this morn.

I am my beloved’s....

And my beloved is mine. Song of Solomon 6:3

Today is our 13th anniversary. I can hardly believe how the time has flown.

Back to school, back to work

Bryan's recovery is going well so off to work he went yesterday. I pray he doesn't push it too hard. His arm was sore yesterday when he got home.

Also, back to school for the rest of us. The girls had great attitudes and finished their work in no time. We went out into the back yard and gave the dog a bath in the wading pool, cleaned out the pool and set it under the slide. The girls had a blast. The dog however, not so much. After he was dry I proceeded to cut his hair. He's much cooler now.

The afternoon found us at the library for story time. It was Junk Food Fest! They had a puppet show, a story, and named junk food from A-Z. Fun was had during the 'push the butterscotch across the floor with your nose' game and the bubble gum blowing contest. There was caramel stacking, pretzel dropping, remember the 10 things on the tray, and junk food art.

Today, we'll get some work done, have lunch and hit the park with the wading pool (just 1 1/2 blocks away) for the afternoon.

Oregon Coast

Today we took the day off and sauntered over to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We really enjoyed the exhibits, especially the "touch pool". Of course the "Passages of the Deep" is always a favorite. The sharks are getting big.

On the way home we stopped at Beverly Beach and tried not to freeze to death (it was only 52) while we explored the beach.

Got home to Albany to a beautiful 82 degrees!

Saga of the braces.....

Got my braces on Monday. Monday night while grinding my teeth as I slept, I knocked off 2 of my bottom brackets. Another hour at the orthodontist on Tuesday to put the brackets back on. Tuesday night..... you guessed it. I knocked the same 2 brackets off. So on Wednesday they took all my bottom brackets off. Wow does my mouth hurt. Couldn't chew for 3 days (lost some weight so I'm not complaining much). Now I definately have empathy for the girls.

Raining today. Supposed to be nice again starting tomorrow.

Braces

Today I joined the ranks of adults with braces. I keep reminding myself that when done it will all be worth it. Right now it hurts. Oh well......

Looking back...

As this is the last day of May 2007, I look back with fondness at the first part of this year. We had birthdays in January, February, March and April. The girls endured their mandated testing (they both passed, yeah!) in May. We've seen snow, rain, sun, and wind. We've been cold and yesterday we installed a new air conditioner. We've had some marvelous field trips with our homeschool group.

Bryan goes in for surgery on his shoulder tomorrow morning. I'll be about 4 months until he can use it normally again. I get to be in charge of mowing the lawn and whacking the weeds. Should be fun since I enjoy whacking things. :o)

Memorial Day

Officially, Memorial Day is tomorrow. However, this past weekend our family travelled to Eastern Oregon to celebrate with family and friends. Saturday we drove up to Wallowa Lake to drop Bryan off for a weekend of camping with a friend. On Sunday the girls, my mom and I went to Elgin Christian Church and then to the cemeteries in Elgin and Wallowa to decorate the graves of lost loved ones. The girls saw where their great-grandparents are buried and heard stories about them. We spent time wandering around reminiscing about the people no longer with us noticing the American flags among the gravestones.

We decorated the grave of my mom's best friend with a bouquet of lilacs, iris, and peonies in a teapot. It's hard to believe it has been almost 9 years since she's been gone.

22 years...

As the girls were writing the date on their schoolwork yesterday, I thought to myself "Self, you graduated high school 22 years ago today!" WOW!!!

Testing Day

Jessica (grade 5) and Hannah (grade 3) completed their state mandated testing yesterday. I find it interesting that homeschoolers have to take the 3hr CAT5 (California Achievement Test version 5) and public schoolers take a much easier Oregon test with as few as 35 questions.

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today. The girls and Bryan served me eggs benedict in bed with a bouquet of pink carnations and a "Mom" locket. They made a huge card for me. Bryan and I worked with the K-5th graders at church and then we all had brunch at a friends house. It was a completely terrific day!

Reptiles and Amphibians

Our adventure yesterday consisted of a 2 1/2 hour tour of a local wildlife area. The girls really enjoyed the tour and the catching of tadpoles, caterpillers, bugs and snakes. I think they liked walking in the icky pond water the best.

We found a Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus):
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~titus/herp/punctatus.html
A Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis): http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~titus/herp/sirtalis.html
A Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenife): http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~titus/herp/catenifer.html
A Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophis ordinoides): http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~titus/herp/ordinoides.html

The weather held out for us. It was cloudy with the threat of rain; however, the rain didn't show up until after the field trip. Yeah!

Triathlon pics

Well, we finished the triathlon. Bryan placed 1st in his division (Male, 50-59, Mountain Bike), and our team placed 1st in our division (Relay, Mountain Bike). The weater was great, except for the wind on the bike route, not too hot or cold and no rain!

Albany Sprint Triathlon

Triathlon is tomorrow. Bryan will swim (750 meters), I will bike (20k), and Bryan will run (5k). It is supposed to be below 60 degrees with a shower or two. I hope it decides not to rain during my biking. That can be pretty miserable. I also pray that the wind isn't blowing.

Beautiful weather

We took advantage of the wonderful weather yesterday with a drive, a hike and a picnic at Soda Springs. We're a day away from Easter and 2 weeks from the Albany Sprint Triathlon. Bryan will be swimming, I will bike and he will run. Should be fun. I'm in no shape to do the whole thing this year but am determined to be next year. I'm still trying to get my asthma and allergies under control. Breathing is an important part life.

Hobbies

I've been crocheting a lot during the past few months. I made dishcloths, coasters, blankets for family at Christmas time. I've been working on slippers but haven't quite got them figured out yet. I'm not sure exactly how to read some of the patterns. As I am a self-taught crocheter I can't ask the teacher. Well, I could ask the teacher but would probably end up in a huge debate :o) The latest projects have been cotton coasters, pot holders, 12" granny squares and head hugger caps. I took a short knitting lesson in January and did manage to make a really cool scarf. Now if knitting needles had hooks on the end so the stitch didn't fall off, I'd do much better . Oh, well. Time to get the kids going on schoolwork. Testing is coming up for my 2 oldest in May so we'd better get busy with practicing and making sure we don't miss anything that is going to be on the test. Have a beautiful day!!!

Hello Spring

Yesterday was the first day of Spring. Thank you Jesus!!! Of course it was raining. But to have the flowers and the green grass you have to put up with a bit of rain. My flowers are beautiful right now. (I hope they didn't freeze to death last night.)

My favorite colors are pink and purple (lavendar) and with a little yellow thrown in... WOW!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Well, its here. My 40th. My parents sent me a coffee mug that says: "I'D RATHER BE 40 THAN PREGNANT". Amen to that!!! Should be another rainy day in Oregon. 40 years ago we were having the worst snow storm of the winter.

Running Around Like.....

a chicken with it's head cut off. A Tuesday in the life of this homeschool family. The girls, dog & I went for a 30-minute walk in the morning as the sun was shining and forecast called for rain later in the day. (My husband and I are training for the Albany Sprint Triathlon.) After returning home the girls got out their 'school boxes' and chose what they were going to work on as I took a shower. Lunch time was upon us faster than we had anticipated. We quickly threw lunch together and headed out the door for Corvallis where the girls are taking classes with our homeschool co-op. My two older girls are taking a craft class where they learned to use fabric to create a scenic picture. They've also done a tye-dye t-shirt, removed color from a t-shirt and stamped/painted on a t-shirt. Our youngest daughter is taking a Spanish class and is loving it. Mom is a helper in the craft class.

Spring is definitely on the way. My Daffodils and Rhodies are blooming like crazy. I spent the weekend planting primroses, trimming rose bushes, and pulling weeds. Meanwhile my husband spent time painting and finishing up some wallpapering projects.

I guess I should get off the computer and get the school day started.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb ..................

Well here it is the 1st of March. We had some snow, hail, wind, and rain yesterday. The girls went outside to "play in the snow" and got soaked to the bone. They had fun. My daffodils are blooming and my allergies are booming. Crocuses can't figure out why it is so cold. Can't wait til Spring.

Approaching 40..........

Well, here it is almost the end of February. Just like normal, we had a few nice days of shirt-sleeve weather and a week later it was back to scraping ice off the car windows. My oldest daughter just turned 11 and I'm turning 40 in March! Life goes by fast!!!

This is the day the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Finally warming up a bit

After our little cold spell this past week, it is finally warming up. It is 42 degrees which actually feels warm. Isn't Oregon grand? Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes and it will change. You know you live in Oregon if you use your heater and air-conditioner on the same day!!! I praise the Lord we don't live in the Portland area. They really got the ice and snow. Of course growing up in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon, I know what real snow is. It is quite entertaining to watch people try to drive and/or walk on solid ice. I do pray for the people who were hurt during this storm.

New Year

Well, here it is 2007 already. My youngest just turned 7 and my oldest will turn 11 in 3 weeks. Their sister turned 9 in November. We've had a restful few weeks after completing our church's childrens' musical in December. Time to get back at it.