A Precious Angel

Please pray for this family...I have been reading sweet baby Leah's site for a little while and my heart is so broken for her family right now.
There are so many people hurting right now.

Snow!

We had even more snow over the last weekend and it was a lot -- around 17 inches!! It was (and still is) so beautiful, and I love that we're getting ready for Christmas with everything still white!

Where does the time go?

Growing up I always wondered why the 'grown ups' constantly said "time flies". I just didn't get it...time seemed to drrrraaaaagggg!
Now I understand. Tomorrow I will have an 8 year-old. It was 8 years ago right about now that I went to bed feeling just a bit sick to my stomach---having no idea that labor was starting!
8 years ago that we were about to step into an amazing journey together...parenthood!

Time flies!

If I was A/An, I'd Be

I borrowed this from another blog :) I tag everyone reading this who has a blog!

If I was a/an _____, I'd be ______

TV show: The Office

Song: Dancing Queen

Movie: An Officer and A Gentleman

Book: Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers)

Fictional character: Ashley Baxter :)

City: Del Rio, TN

Verb: chaotic

Color: pink

Animal: bear (so I could sleep all winter)

Emotion: overwhelmed (right now)

Article of clothing: black sweat pants

Flavor: mocha

Food: ice cream

Vice: caffiene

Plant: ivy

Mythological animal: unicorn

Letter: S

Inanimate object: Purse

Scent: cinnamon

Season: Fall

Fruit: Apple

My Top 10 Favorite Things About Homeschooling

I'm trying to keep myself focused on the positive things about life today.

1. I don't have to be up early and have the kids fed and dressed for school.
2. We can go to school in our PJ's.
3. I know what my kids are learning
4. I know who my kids are playing with (and learning from)
5. I get to be creative and crafty while teaching (teacher was one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up).
6. I get to see the joy in their hearts when they learn something new...and knowing that I taught them is just as great!
7. We get to be together all. of. the. time. (this could be on the dislikes list, too)
8. We can take a day off whenever we need to. Without needing an excuse.
9. I can teach my kids according to their own learning style. This can be difficult but fun at the same time.
10. No Homework!!!

Hands of A Child

Have you ever heard the term “Cristes maesse”? It's an old
English phrase and it means “Christ’s Mass". This is where we get the word Christmas!

This was the very first thing that we learned when we sat down to work through the Project Pack Symbols of Christmas from In The Hands Of A Child.

A project pack is a wonderful thing for homeschoolers! It is a packet full of activities and all of the lessons or resources that you need to complete them. Everything is done for the parent/teacher, and you can work through each packet knowing that your kids are going to be having fun while learning! There are so many interesting lessons included with each unit, and any of them can be tweaked to fit your child's learning level. When you have finished the packet, you're end result is a super fun lapbook that your kids will want to look at over and over again!

I was really excited to review the Symbols of Christmas pack. My kids (8 and 5) are at the age that they see the materialism of Christmas, and like so many of us they get caught up in the 'stuff' quickly. This packet was a great opportunity to learn about many of the symbols that surround us during this season and how they came to be so significant. Areas covered include Advent wreaths, Advent Calendars, Christmas Cards, Christmas Gifts, Christmas Trees, Christmas Tree Lights, Ornaments, and Santa/Saint Nicholas. I am so thankful that now we know why we use these and what the history behind each one is.

We discovered lapbooks in our first year of homeschooling and I don't know who has more fun with them--me or the kids! I struggled through quite a few lapbooks trying to compile my own graphics, crafts, and lessons. One day someone recommended Hands of a Child to me. Oh My Word!! This site has made my job so much easier! Everything is done for me, and I can trust that the lessons are accurate as well as interesting! I also love that they give detailed instructions on how to put a lapbook together and even include pictures of a completed one!

Hands of a Child has published over 200 project packs, and they will even do custom packs on request! Be sure to stop over and browse their store, and it's not too late to grab the Symbols of Christmas pack for yourself! The price is $12 for the ebook, which is a good price for such a wonderful resource.

Our lapbooks aren't quite done, but once we have them finished I will be showing you lots of pictures!

*This is a Mama Buzz review. Hands of A Child provided this product for free in exhange for our review*

Mason is (almost) 10 months!

I had to stop and think after I wrote the title--is it REALLY 10 months?? Time has gone by so quickly! We had a well baby check yesterday and since he'll be 10 mos next week we'll go ahead and update!

He weighs 18lb 15 1/4 oz (so 19?) and is 31 inches long! A few 'highlights' of what he's doing:

Pulls up on everything recently found the stairs

loves to open and close things

says Mama, Dada, I-yatt (wyatt), and poop! yep, poop!

still nurses a lot, but eats pretty much whatever we eat. his fav's are grilled cheese sandwich, butter toast, mashed potatoes, and crackers!

he'll stand by himself until he realizes that he's doing it!

loves his bath!

still thinks that the big kids are great!

does not sleep through the night :(

has mastered the sippy cup

first thing every morning he poops and pees on the potty

loves the animals

oh, and he also knows how to throw a good fit if you make him mad. I was hoping that wouldn't come until much later!

gives 'love' and kisses.

gets so excited when Ben gets home and immediately reaches for him! Ben loves this :)

He thought that cousin Nolan's 4 wheeler was pretty neat!

Our New Puppy!

So while we were in MS over Thanksgiving, Grammy overheard me mention that for our next dog I would love a Labradoodle---we love our lab (even though she drives me insane, she has been a GREAT dog) but I don't love the shedding. Poodles don't shed--I didn't know that until recently!

Grammy started looking for a puppy, and today we picked up our Christmas gift. A sweet little Labradoodle who is 12 weeks old! She is already a great dog -- very submissive, calm, and so good with all of the kids. Even Mason, who spent quite a while rolling around on her and giving her 'love'! She doesn't have really long hair like some do, which I think will be a good thing! I have enough trouble keeping Natalie's hair brushed!

She doesn't have a name yet, but we'll be sure to announce one when it's decided!

The face...

Of a teething baby. I don't look much different, but i'll spare you a picture! I am hoping these top teeth come in reallly soon!!!