March Snuck Up and Raced By!

Oh boy, has it really been this long??  A lot has happened since I last posted in February...Yikes! 

The quilting class I taught is over and it was a lot of fun!  It was great to get out of the house and just sew for a couple of hours.  I actually got Nate's quilt completed in a reasonable amount of time!  (It helped having a deadline.) 


Nate's T-shirt quilt

We have stayed busy with homeschooling as well.  I am still teaching with Heart of Dakota curriculum and my boys are enjoying it.  I'm glad we made the change.  Lulu likes to sit with us and listen sometimes too, which is much easier than trying to keep her out of "adventures."  (I'm going to be posting some more about homeschooling in the near future.)

In March, we celebrated Jman's 6th birthday.  We had a pirate party and played pin the tail on the Tick-Tock croc and had a treasure hunt that lead to a pinata!  Our house was full of friends and laughter and we loved every minute of it!  Now, BG keeps asking when he gets to have his birthday party!  It's going to be a long three months if he keeps asking! :)


Birthday Friends!

We also went up to North Dakota for spring break.  Usually people go south, so we should have gone farther south, right?  Not this year.  We decided to fly, which turned into a fiasco.  We were supposed to fly out on Friday the 8th at noon.  We arrived at the airport at 9:30 a.m., with all 3 kids and carry-on bags in tow.  First, our flight got delayed until 2:45 p.m.  We passed the time by riding the Skylink (the train that connects the 5 terminals in Dallas), playing on "the boys'" (really Nate's) new tablets, and working on some school worksheets.  At 2:15, when we were getting ready to board, our flight was cancelled!  While I tried to find us a new flight to Fargo, Nate kept 3 crabby and tired kids busy and out of trouble.  We ended up getting a flight the next morning, Saturday, at 6:20 am to Chicago, then from Chicago to Fargo.  Thankfully, Nate's great aunt and cousins live in Frisco, and graciously let us come back to their house Friday night.  What a blessing!  They also drove us back to the airport at 4:20 the next morning.  Just when we thought we were in the clear, 5 minutes before boarding at 5:50, our flight switched gates and terminals!  Back to the Skylink!  By this time, our kids knew what was going on.  The boys pulled their backpacks (on wheels) and headed up the escalator to the train.  They got lots of looks and chuckles.  After making it to our gate in Dallas, landing a little late in Chicago and running through the Chicago airport, we finally made it to Fargo!  I am glad to report that the flight home went much smoother.  We had a great time in Fargo, but were very glad to get home.  When we left, it was -7 degrees in Fargo.  Upon arriving in Dallas, it was 85 degrees.  Much better!!  The picture below is at the Snocross races in Glyndon, MN.  Cold and fun with Auntie Ash and Uncle Nicky!!

The weekend we flew back to Dallas, we ended up being able to go to the MLS game in Frisco.  We got to watch FC Dallas beat the Houston Dynamo in the stadium where the Bison won 2 football championships.  Lots of fun! 

We are finally home and back in the groove of school, work and church.  Our weeks are a lot busier, now that Jman is in T-ball and soccer.  He has T-ball practice twice a week and soccer practice twice a week.  We are gone every night of the week either at practices or church.  He has only had one soccer game so far and was awesome!  He scored 1 goal and did a great job playing defense.  Nate was proud, especially since he is the coach of his team!  T-ball games don't start for a couple of weeks, but they will be played on Saturdays, just like soccer.  We will really be racing then! 

Our BEST news is that BG gave his heart to the Lord this past week!  He decided he wanted Jesus in his heart forever.  His prayer was precious and sweet, just like him.  A very special day!!!

As we come into this Easter season, I am so thankful for all the blessings we have received since moving to Texas.  God has a plan for us and we continue to walk in faith, knowing we are where we are supposed to be.  When the time comes for us to move on, in God's direction, we will do just that. 

I pray you all have a very blessed Easter and are showered with blessings and reach out for the hope and assurance of salvation through Christ's death and ressurection.  What an amazing gift He has given to us!!

Blessings and Love~

For My T-Shirt Quilting Friends

I wanted to put a few pictures of the squares on Nick's quilt that had smaller squares making up the larger square.  You can see how it looks!

The 2 squares on the upper left and lower right are 6-1/2" squares. The upper right and lower left are 4-1/2" squares with strips sewed onto the side and top to make it a 6-1/2" square.  

Hope this gives you a better idea of the smaller squares making a larger one!

Blessings,

Gone Long, but Not Long Gone

It has been so long since I've been on my blog, I forgot what it looked like!  I bet you're wondering where in the world have I been?  All I can say is busy and enjoying the everyday tasks of life.

After my last post in November, Nate got a promotion at work, so he's been a little busier than usual.  Not too much though, since he was already really in that position without the title and compensation for two months.  We continued to homeschool and I signed up to teach a quilting class at the college in February.  The week of Thanksgiving, we traveled to San Antonio for 5 days and visited Sea World, The Alamo, the River Walk, and the old World Fair site, which included the Towers of America.

At the Alamo

A waterfall along the River Walk

The kids absolutely loved Sea World.  When we pulled into the parking lot the first day, Jman exclaimed from the back seat, "Shamu!! We are here!!"  His excitement reflected all of our attitudes.  And to make it even better, Sea World was celebrating Christmas.  It was decorated in Christmas trees, lights, "snow", costumes, carolers, a Mariachi band dressed in Santa suits, lights set to music, and a Santa Shamu!

BG feeding a dolphin

Jman was the only one not afraid of the characters

December brought more school and preparations for our trek up north.  We celebrated Christmas and New Years in Fargo and then spent our last couple of days in Minneapolis.  It was lots of fun getting to see family and friends.  The weather wasn't as much fun.  It was cold, windy and icy.  But we weren't expecting anything different from North Dakota or Minnesota.  It was great to get home and have temperatures in the 50s.  We didn't NEED our coats on!  As wonderful as it was to see everyone, we were grateful to be home after our 16 day vacation and not living out of suitcases anymore.  It's a long time to be away.

At the farm

North Dakota winter 

Now, as we are getting to the end of January, we are back in the swing of things.  The only new adventure in our horizon is that I start teaching my quilting class in less than 2 weeks.  It's only one night a week for 4 weeks, so it should be a nice, fun break for me!  

It doesn't seem like a lot, but it sure kept me busy.  We continue to walk in Christ's footsteps and grow as a family and as Christians.  God has provided for us and blessed us immensely.  We are so thankful.

How have you been staying busy??

Blessings,

Why We Chose to Homeschool

My homeschool book bins for Jman and BG

When I tell someone we homeschool our children, there is usually a list of questions to follow.  I've had a few people ask me why we chose to homeschool, and I'm going to share that answer with you.

First off, I'll start with my husband's and my education background.  I grew up going to public schools my entire life.  I enjoyed school, in fact, I loved high school and college.  I had a great experience.  My husband went to public schools as well, except for Seminary and his other graduate classes, in which he attended a private Christian school.  He would say he enjoyed his schooling.  

We first started talking about homeschooling after hearing stories from friends that were teachers, and other people that were still in high school.  They would talk about kids doing drugs in class, having alcohol in water bottles, the lack of motivation and respect in classrooms, as well as the lack of knowledge one would think kids would know in high school.  We do realize that these could be one time incidents, but the fact that they even happened in public and private schools raised flags on our radar.  

I was still not convinced about homeschooling; my husband was more for the idea than me, until I did some volunteer time at an elementary school in a Title I classroom in north Minneapolis.  North Minneapolis is not one of the nicer neighborhoods in Minneapolis.  The school was in a low-income neighborhood and would be considered a rough neighborhood.  The children I helped were way behind in their reading.  It was a daunting job.  The regular classrooms had over 30 kids in them, and the teachers were not able to spend quality time teaching each subject to each child.  This caused many problems for kids that couldn't keep up or learned in a different way than what was being taught.  The kids were also sent home with massive amounts of homework.  I couldn't believe the size of the 1st and 2nd graders backpacks!  I don't remember having a lot of homework that required taking textbooks home.  After finishing up my volunteer time at that school, I felt more called to homeschooling than ever before.  I do believe God placed me there to feel compassion for those children, pray for them and work on guiding my heart towards homeschooling.

The main reason for our family deciding to homeschool is our values.  Nate and I both decided that we want our children to be filled with Christian values as their hearts and characters are being developed.  I am always amazed at how much they pick up from listening to others speak and watching others interact.  They are little sponges and I want them soaking up Godly virtues.  There was a first grade teacher in Minneapolis that was openly conversing with his students about his homosexual relationship. After hearing this, I knew that I didn't want someone else responsible for my children's education.

We also want our children to get the attention and help they need, when they need it.  I am able to pick up right away when they are having difficulties or getting frustrated.  This will help in the long run, making school enjoyable now and nurturing a love for learning.

As an added bonus, we like having the flexibility to take family vacations when we want to, and use them as specific learning experiences.  There is always a time to learn.

We feel so blessed to have the opportunity and freedom to school our children from home.  It is so awesome to watch the "light bulb" go on as it clicks in their minds, a privilege really.  It is an adventure, with ups and downs, excitements and disappointments, but always with an atmosphere of love.

Blessings,

My Own T-Shirt Quilt

I finally finished my own t-shirt quilt and I am very pleased with how it turned out.  This is my first ever quilting project done for myself.  I have lots of ideas planned for myself, they just aren't in the works yet.

 

It took me longer than I thought to hand stitch the binding, but it is my own fault for letting it just sit on my sewing table!

I machine quilted in the ditch, down each column and along each row.  Then, I free sewed a little flower close to each corner, following the pattern on the orange material from the front. 

 

 

Now that I've finished my quilt, there is little time to enjoy it.  I need to get back to my sister's t-shirt quilt and finish it up, before her birthday in December.  One would think I'd get it done by then, with ample time to spare, but I can be the first to assure you that life happens!

 

Blessings,

 



Chai Tea Latte Recipe

This is my FAVORITE!

1 c nonfat dry milk powder
1 c powdered non-dairy creamer
1 c French Vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c unsweetened instant tea
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom

Optional: Spice it up more with 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp allspice, and 1/4 tsp white pepper.

1. In a large bowl, combine the milk powder, creamers, sugar and instant tea.  Stir in spices.

2. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until it's a fine powder.

Above is a double recipe.

3. To serve, stir 2 tbsp Chai mix into a cup of hot water.

Makes about 36 servings.

If you can buy cardamom in the shell, in bulk, and then grind it yourself, it is MUCH cheaper than buying it already ground.  Look around for it.  In MN, I found it in the ethnic food section of our local grocery store, in the bulk bags.  I have yet to find it in bulk down here in TX.  I'm still searching!!

Blessings,

Bugs!!!

We have had lots of fun this week and last week working on bugs!  We should have been done by now, but we have been struck with illness and took a couple of days off.  We are finally on the mend with the help of antibiotics, an inhaler and some cough medicine.

My kids like bugs if they are not crawling on them or biting them.  Learning about them has helped alleviate some of their concern.  I know they love butterflies, so I eased them in to the topic with an enjoyable bug.  I ordered some Painted Lady butterfly caterpillars from Insect Lore and watched them grow, become cocoons and emerge as butterflies.  My kids LOVE them.  Jman keeps telling me he has new best friends.  Funny boy!

We bought some fresh cut flowers to put in their garden.  Which has turned into the boys telling every checkout person, regardless of where we are, that we have butterflies and they love flowers.  Super cute!  

We had one butterfly perish.  We took it out and examined it.  It was good for them to see the wings, legs and antennae up close.  There is always a teaching moment!

My curriculum this week is the Bug Pack printed from 3 Dinosaurs.  My boys have been enjoying it a lot, especially all of the puzzles.  BG, my 3 year old, has benefited a lot from all of the copy pages, tracing, coloring, counting and cutting pages.  His handwriting is amazing and he loves school time.  I've been collecting a lot of random pages to go with each theme I've planned, but I got most of my bug pages from this particular website.   

That's our school week in a quick nutshell!

Blessings,