Daybook

For today.....

Outside my window...sunny, hot, muggy about 96 degrees

I am thinking...about the fair

I am thankful for...my family

From the kitchen...sausage, potato salad, peas

From the learning rooms...reading, Proverbs study, history, zoology, consumer math, typing, spanish

I am wearing...denim skirt, t-shirt, hair in ponytail

I am creating...lots and lots ~ fair projects & wedding projects

I am going...to concentrate on the important

I am reading...of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford

I am praying...for a peaceful, fun filled month leading up to our Oct. 1 wedding

I am hearing...not much

Around the house...fair projects, quilting, stacks of books, threads on the floor

One of my favorite things...spending the "schooldays" with my children

A few plans for the rest of the week...bible study, swimming, my 6th wedding anniversary, hopefully getting chickens, painting the living room, working on a puzzle, Greg being off work for 3 days!

Pictures from our weekend visit with family...

Ben

cannonball contest

Watch me Aunt Donna ~ Bobby "diving" for toys

belly flop

Bethany made friends with the puppies!

To visit other daybooks...go to

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

More Wedding Shower Fun

This past Saturday, 5 ladies at our church gave Katie a Bridal Shower.  My mom & sister & niece came from Atlanta, and Amy Kate (Andy's girlfriend) came from college.  It was great to have some family there for the occasion.  It was a beautiful afternoon for our "blushing bride".  Everyone was generous with their time, talents, & gifts.  Here are some pictures of our awesome afternoon.....

some of the girls

Miss Patty asking everyone to write down "advice" or "words of wisdom" for Katie

Our dear friend Rosana reading our devotion from the Bible ~ the tears are flowing, both from her and I.

flowers from Bryant

beautiful etched plaque from the Hall's

Pizza stone!

Canisters from Dad and I ~ they match ours!

Griddle from Aunt Brenda & Uncle Doug

Expert gift helpers...Vida Jo & Bethany

picture frames set from Emmalyn, Morgan & Leigh Catherine

Sweet Christian young ladies ~ Katie, Emmalyn, Morgan, Amy & Leigh Catherine

Katie and her "shower" ladies ~ Angela, Rosana, Shannon, Patty & Melanie

Katie was "showered" with some wonderful, practical, beautiful gifts.  Canisters, Rubbermaid containers, Pyrex dishes, monogramed towels, gift cards, plaques, money, bath & hand towels, a broom & dustpan, books, crockpot, Chick fil A calendars, crocheted dish cloths, griddle, 2 drawer stacking system for storage, laundry basket & hangers, and lots of love! (There were more gifts but I just can't remember right now).

My mom gave Katie a practical "just for her" gift of fabric, zipper, & thread for a new dress.  Along with that gift came a pair of Gingher dress maker shears (fabric only).  There were one or two other gifts for her personally with specific spending instructions ~ looks like a shopping trip is coming up.

It was a great day, spent with many women/girls who love my Katie Lynn and wanted to make her day special.  It was a blessing to me to see this love and all these folks coming to encourage my daughter.

Thanks everyone!

Its been Busy!

The other day, I was talking with my friend Rie and asked her if she had forgotten how to sign into her blog...she told me that she had blogged that day and the day before.  Hummmm, got me to thinking ~ her blog isn't updating with new posts on my sidebar.  I clicked onto "Just call me Rie" and read all kinds of interesting posts...that I had never seen before.  Blogger is really being weird.  I don't know why everything is updating but hers.  So, I formally apologize for my comments the other day friend!  (I really just missed reading and keeping up with y'all)

We have been very busy.  Wedding plans are moving right along.  I got the buttonholes and buttons done on the little flower girl dresses.  And made 10 pew bows to decorate the ends of the rows for the ceremony.  I've decided instead of doing a large floral arrangement, to decorate the sanctuary with some large ferns, ribbon, and white candles.  The design is in my head ~ hope it translates well into the real thing.

Katie is keeping busy with whatever tasks we come up with.  The invitations are in the envelopes, addressed by our friend Angel, stamped and ready to go!   She is working on some hand quilting projects for fair entries.  Just finished quilting a twin size log cabin quilt and now she is working on a "whole cloth" baby quilt.  Whole cloth means the top isn't pieced, its just one piece of fabric.  She found a really cute baby fabric at Walmart to use for this project.  Amy found one too, so they will both have this new fair entry.

We are completing our 4th week of homeschooling this week.  Everything is going very well.  We are doing a Proverbs study every morning (Proverbs Study Guide by Kevin Swanson), doing ABeka Consumer Math (soooo much better than Algebra in my opinion ~ the kids too), Zoology (for my animal lover), Typing, Spanish and history (using History of the World by Vision Forum as our guide). 

We've been canning lots of goodies.  Peas, black eye peas, soup, dill pickles, tomatoes, green beans, etc.  I would love to rely less on the freezer to preserve some of these goodies.  Sometimes in Miss. the power is less than reliable especially during tornado & hurricane seasons.  Plus canned stuff will be easier to travel with in the RV.  I've got fruit waiting in the freezer, ready to turn into more jelly.  Just gotta find the time to do it. 

Our garden is dying a long, slow, hot death here this summer.  Mice ate our corn, and thats probably whats eating our tomatoes.  The green beans haven't been at all productive.  The cucumbers will look great for a while and then they disappear.  Right now, there are 2 gherkin size cucumbers on the vines, I am praying they ripen and nothing eats them before we get our shot.

Doorbell is ringing....gotta go!

Katie's Surprise Bridal Shower

When we started our Keepers at Home group almost 3 years ago...it was with 2 purposes.  

The first was to work on crafts together to enter in the State Fair.

The second was to encourage our girls toward the goal of being Keepers in their own homes when the opportunity presented itself.

Our girls get enough wordly influence to go out, get a job, be your own person, and not nearly enough for being a stay at home wife, mom, Godly woman.

Our first girl is following a path we've dreamed of.  We've talked about this, prayed about this, and studied about this.

Yesterday My Girl...Katie was honored & surprised with a Keepers Bridal Shower.

Many, many thanks to Nancy for planning and carrying this out.

We had a wonderful time with our special friends!  Katie got some great goodies for her new home in Missouri.

Miss Nancy & Katie

wedding ring favors

Will gave Katie a tool box...her own little hammer

towels & hot pad

picture frame cube from Amy

Kaytee Beth wanted to help

Pyrex bowls from Me

hand quilted goodies from Miss Rosana

Lora Beth, Caitlyn, Amber, Emily, Laura Lee, Cheyenne, Vida Jo, Amy, Emmalyn, Izzy, Kaytee Beth, & Katie

beautiful flowers for the shower from Miss Nancy's yard

We had a great time.

Pasta Giveaway

Ronzoni is having a contest and the winner will receive free Pasta for a year!!!  Who doesn't love free food?

Please follow the link below to enter the giveaway...

http://www.itpaystoeatpasta.com/sweeps/index.cfm?u=7B06C006-2DD0-45F7-9DAF-E2E374B2C43A

You may have to copy and paste the link to get to the giveaway.....and if you use my link, I get an extra entry for sharing about the contest!

Thanks!

Our Top Reasons for my Mom's Injury

Mom fell and injured her elbow requiring 4 stitches and broke her shoulder...the real reason for the injury is she tripped on a curb or a speed bump and fell.  But we've come up with some more creative excuses for her injuries...

*She fell off the roof while showing the roofers how to put the shingles on correctly

*Someone greased the monkey bars and she fell while swinging across

*She was jumping on the trampoline and acting a fool

*When she ordered a drink at the restaraunt ~ they served her more than water with lemon

*The bouncer got a little too rough when he tossed her out

*She was trying to break a door down and didn't know her own strength

*Maybe taking up gymnastics at her age wasn't such a good idea after all

*She looks rough but Ya ought to see the other guy

Now, with her injuries and arm in a sling she is going to have to take it easy....no rollerblading, skydiving, pogo stick jumping, swimming races, weight lifting, etc.  But maybe she will survive the restrictions since she never did these things anyway~

We are praying Mom feels better real soon and the Lord quickly "knits" the break back together.

We love you!

College

While I am not a huge fan of going to college "just because", sometimes it is necessary to have that education and diploma for a JOB.  Engineers, accountants, doctors & nurses, etc. all need that important little piece of paper to prove they are knowledgeable in their field.

James has talked about learning welding for 7-8 years.  Its one of the professions where you need the little piece of paper to prove you can do the job and are qualified.

Last night was his first night of classes.  He will go M-Th. and in a year should be able to get a full time, salaried job.

He's worked hard to get to this stage of life.  He worked really hard to get accepted into the school.  He's going to continue to work fulltime during the day and attend classes at night.

I'm proud of the hard work he is willing to put into this new chapter of his life.

Homeschooling

This is my 16th year of homeschooling my children.  Its a journey I will never forget.  As a Mom, is a humbling, character building, faith building, prayer strengthening, roller coaster of a life.  Its been frustrating as well ~ why do some children struggle with a math concept that has to be repeated over and over again for weeks then turn around and be able to quote all the movies or shows an actor has appeared in?  How can a school book get lost at home...between the kitchen and the bookcase?  How do we get all done everyday (we don't!)  Why does everyone and their brother want to offer their 2 cents on what we do and how we do it and why we do it?  Why do people think that just because your child struggles in an area ~ its because they homeschool and aren't in real school?

So here are some of the reasons we homeschool & continue to do so...year after year after year........

*Its what works best for our family and for our children.
*It strengthens our family bonds and enhances our relationships with each other.
*We can slow down in some areas that need extra attention and speed up in other areas that they've mastered.
*We are in charge of our time and our days,  not the government.
*We can work on character issues ~ diligence, honesty, accountability, peacefulness, helping others, not being self-centered
*We have the time as a family to minister to others ~ whether cooking the Wed. night meal at church, to buying food for the food pantry at church
*We can "vacation" and travel whenever we want to.
*We, as the parents, can focus on our children and pray for the Lords leading and his Will for their lives.
*We have fun together, whether swimming, planting a garden, harvesting vegetables, shopping for shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, playing games, caring for pets, putting puzzles together, making homemade bread & cookies ~ if my children were gone all day, they would miss most of this or we would have to cram it into a couple of hours at night.
*We can form close relationships with other homeschooling, Christian families.
*We don't have to worry about what our children are being taught, exposed to, or see in school ~ we know!
*We don't have to worry about school violence...we are in charge.
*We live, work, eat, cook, play, pray, and enjoy our time together.
*We genuinely enjoy being with our children ~ some parents don't.  Its sad to send your children off to school for the whole day because you don't want to be around them &/or can't control them.  Thats a personal "heart" issue for the families.
*We want the control of their education.  Its mandated in the Bible.  No where in the Bible does it tell parents to send their children away every day for their education.

I know there is no perfect form of education.  But I do believe that homeschooling is the best.  There is no one in the world who loves our children more than we do, who wants the best for every area of their lives, and who will give up countless hours to see it accomplished. 

Proverbs 2:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your hear, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.  Do not be wise in your own eyes, Fear the Lord and depart from evil, It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.

Proverbs 24: 3-4
Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established: By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Ministry

The Lord blesses people with certain gifts to aid them in ministry.  These gifts could be a love for children, a desire for missions, crafting skill to help in Sunday School or Bible School, musical abilities to help in worship, organizational abilities, cooking skills to minister to your church family, listening skills, and empathy skills.  This is only the tiniest tip of the huge iceberg of skills.

Sometimes the Lord allows things to happen in your life that you can later use to help someone else.  You can certainly empathize & sympathize & encourage someone if you've been through the same thing.  And honestly, sometimes these life happenings you would just rather forget about because they are intensely painful, embarrassing, and you want to sweep them under the rug and forget they ever happened.  But the Lord doesn't allow them to remain hidden for long.

I am in one of those situations right now.  A mom at our church is going through a horrible time with her son.  He made unwise, not thought out, stupid decisions one night in June.  It has landed him in a huge pile of trouble, trouble that a Mama can't fix and doesn't understand.  Another Mom shared with her my story (leaving out my name) to encourage her that she can get through this.  I've since talked with her on several occasions.  Honestly, he screwed up but its reflecting back on her, people always look for someone to blame, whether it applies in that situation or not.

We've talked together, hugged, and cried together.  Last night was a sobbing, crying, broken conversation night.  She got devastating news about her son and his trouble.  This has far reaching, gut wrenching, sleepless nights implications.

So please pray~  for me to know what to say, when to say it, and when to just be quiet & cry with her.  For her ~ her Mama heart is shattering, she will need much heavenly guidance, care & protection.  For the sisters that are watching, listening, and not really understanding what is going on.  And for this young man ~ his life and the lives of others will be eternally affected.

I can honestly say, I would not have chosen this Ministry.  I am praying for strength, courage, and the right works to say when speaking with her.

Daybook

For today.....

Outside my window~ sunny, hotter than hot (105 yesterday), no rain, everything is getting crunchy dry

I am thinking~ about a wedding & a marriage

I am thankful for~ Godly young people for my childrens friends

From the kitchen~ made laundry detergent this morning (note to self: be careful grating the soap, cause grating your hand is absolutely no fun),  we are going to get a $1 burger at McD's for lunch, dinner is ???

From the learning rooms~ ABeka Consumer Math, learning all about cars, loans, maintenance, ins., my kids got much more car ins. information than ABeka provided yesterday because I worked for St. Farm for 10 years~car ins. is something I know well!, World History starting with Creation, today they are doing a word search and drawing the 1st week of the world, also working on cursive handwriting with writing the Bible verses that go along with the days., typing review on the computer, Science ~ about to jump into zoology with both feet.  We are also going to get Rosetta Stone Spanish downloaded onto this laptop and start that again (we will probably never be fluent in Spanish, but we will be able to understand a little)

I am wearing~ skirt, top, slip on tennies, ponytail

I am creating ~ wedding goodies, Gregs Tractor and barn cross stitch, pj pants for Will, and skirts for the girls & I  (my big stack of fabric is slowly shrinking ~ ohhhh, maybe that means another JoAnn's trip is in order !)  Katie is creating a "wedding quilt" for her bed and completing a smocked jumper from her smocking this summer.  This will be the beginning of her "hope chest for children" and a fair entry for her.

I am going~ to enjoy these last 7 1/2 weeks with my oldest daughter before she gets married

I am reading~ a book from my friend Betsy "Growing Up Amish" by Ira Wagler (pretty interesting so far), the Bible, ABeka Biology, magazines

I am praying~ for family situations, Allen's upcoming ultrasound on his heart, my friend Rosana, her family and the little baby in her womb, Greg and his work situation

I am hearing~ fans blowing (the air conditioner cannot keep up with this heat), doggie claws on the wood floor, cars driving up and down the road

Around the house~ Katie is starting to pack some of her stuff, lots of crafting to complete projects for the fair, reading, skyping & texting, list making

One of my favorite things~ working on jigsaw puzzles with Greg & the kids (this is a newly acquired like, I never liked them before)  The next puzzle is mine ~ looks like a sewing basket spilled out onto a table ~ lots of threads, etc.

A few plans for the rest of the week~ jelly making, canning peas, crafting, hopefully finishing chicken coop, Bible Study, swimming, long hot nights at home

To read other daybook entries, Please head over to 
http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Engagement Photo's

Of the 15 or so engagement pictures I took today...these are my 3 favorite ~

Its been a great visit...lots of swimming, shopping, eating, puzzle putting together, counseling, sunshine and smiles.  And pictures, hand holding, special talks, pictures and more smiles!

Wedding Preparations

Applying for license

filling out all the paperwork

Greg signing the permission paper for his baby to get married

The License

Tux Decisions

Fitting ~ Bryant

Fitting Brady

Fitting Will

Bryant and Brady got here past midnight~thirty last night.  Katie and I were their welcoming committee.  Basically it was, huggy huggy and then goodnight.

Today was full of activity.  First Bryant & Katie, Will & Brady (the chaperones) drove down to the Health Dept. to get Bryants blood test put on Miss. paperwork and pick up Katie's results.  Then it was a lazy morning at home with Bible study, talking, Wii playing and a couple of games of pool.

Greg got home around lunchtime and Rob arrived soon afterwards.  Lunch was grilled hot dogs, chili, fruit and chips.  Then off to get the marriage license.  Bryant and Katie were brave and dropped by the Keepers meeting and he was introduced to Marie, Jennifer, Kelley, and Nancy.  Then onto get tuxes, look for shirts at Kohl's, hit Hobby Lobby and Michaels and dinner at Backyard Burger.

Now, I am praying for a quiet night at home...well as quiet as a house can be with 5 of my children and 2 guests!

Tomorrow morning, the "to be"  married couple to be will meet with our Pastor and start the pre-marital counseling~

First Day of our School Year

 On Monday of this week, I began my 16th year of homeschooling ~ and I learn new stuff every year!  Its a thrill, challenge, character building, loving, and unique time with my youngest 2 children.  We are all in the 10th and 11th grades together.

This year we are studying World History ~beginning with Creation, Consumer Math ~ a practical application of math in our day to day lives...car ins., buying a home, interest rates, budgets, utilities, balancing a checkbook, etc, Zoology ~ animals, insects, etc, Church History, and we will learn about different composers and their music ~ Handel, Bach, Beethoven, etc.  I did not buy a language book for this year ~ Will and Amy both are going to work on research, complete sentences, paragraphs, etc...something they are both week in.

Added to the regular curriculum will be lots of crafts, jigsaw puzzles, problem solving, diligent work ethics, yard work, gardening, and canning.  They will also have plenty of free time!

Here are some pics from our 1st day.....

its a school imposter!  Katie's 2nd year out of highschool.  She is quilting, reading, cooking, etc. in preparation for being a wife in 8 weeks!

Amy ~ our 10th grader

plowing class!

lunch out with Dad on the first day!  Beats the homeschool cafeteria ~ but was pretty pricey~

Will ~ our 11th grader

Principal & Teacher ~ first day of school lunch out at O'Charley's

Our "little" homeschool!  It'll be a great year!