The kids are having a great time this week learning thier Classical conversations material.  Classical learning teaches facts at the younger ages - the kids memorize the core of info, not neccessarily their connections.  A lot of the information is set to a tune or a dance.  We also had fun making up our own.  In the first video below, the kids are all joining in - I love how Ryan is having fun too (and the room he destroyed in 10 seconds flat while working on … [Read more...]

A friend of mine told me her story - how she bled that others might live and how she thought of Him in the midst....Let's start at the beginning and I will tell the story the way I see it in my mind.....She's running slightly late, thinking of all the parts of her day left undone - the laundry, the errands - even lunch, which never found time to be eaten.  She drives quickly, but not so quickly as to alert any official - afterall, she is married to one of them, and what would be more … [Read more...]

Well, technically we started school a few weeks ago, but this was our first day of Classical Conversations, which felt like a day at school, so I decided to document the event with typical back to school photos!  The kids loved their classes!  Their presentations this week were titled "All About Me" and they both did great.  Becca summed up her first day by saying "I have a bunch of new friends".  You could tell they were having a ball!  Robby's group was a little more … [Read more...]

Yesterday afternoon we headed outdoors for a nature study on the trails at Apple Canyon State Park.  There is a trail with a one-mile loop that is pretty kid friendly, and the little ones were sure excited!  We found all sorts of cool things to look up when we got home.  Best of all, we got our hands dirty and touched God's world.  As always, it touched us back.  I always feel restored after spending time outside (ok, maybe not in -20 degree weather...) … [Read more...]

Becca asked to start her special day with cinnamon rolls which started rising at 2am. Anything for Becca Boo! I am not sure who loved them more....Becca or Ryan!!!Her party started in the afternoon.  The theme was Circus and she had such a ball playing with her friends in the bounce house, getting their faces painted, playing on the jungle gym, firing rockets, and playing pin-the-nose on the clown.  Such great friends and family to share her special day with!  I can't believe … [Read more...]

Preparations for Becca's birthday took place on Friday after school work was done.  As you can see, Gabe was very glad to "help" me with the cake! … [Read more...]

I awaken at three in the morning, a cracking thunder overhead and nothing between the impending rain and I but a tent.  The four little ones slumber quietly even while the world around them shakes.  Wind blows the tent shuddering from the pressure, the showering rain so loud it's hard to think.  The phone rings - a friend snug and safe in thier camper a few sites over.  "Are you guys doing ok?" she asks.  I tell her the tent is bearing the storm well, and the kids are … [Read more...]

I ponder long, racking my brain for what words I might pen to this one-line statement.  How do I summarize a life?  We spend our lives with words - speaking who we are out loud to others, but also the conversations in the deep inner parts.  Those words that bring worry or regret, rejoicing or peace.  We turn words over, repeating them.  They have the power to encite, to stirr up anger and wrath or to calm - a peaceful hymn murmered when things are turning sour and you … [Read more...]

We are going to be spending the majority of our time in the dining room, so it just made sense to me to brighten things up a bit and get some fresh curtains in there! I still have a bit of work to do, but all in all, it is coming together nicely! I found a wonderful black bookshelf at a garage sale that works perfectly for our books! Here is what our classroom looks like! To me, it just shouts - Loving to Learn!!! … [Read more...]

Well, the school year is about to start - my first "official" school year instructing the children. Although, we all know that the instruction of our children begins at their birth, for we are all homeschoolers in a way - teaching our children in the paths of righteousness and of His ways, am I right? I wanted to start this journey with clear direction and purpose - to have some sort of "ruler" to help determine what reaches our goals and what detracts from them. In order to do that, I had … [Read more...]