Christmastime

I love Christmas. Absolutely LOVE it. And it is so much more special with the children, watching their excitement build as they stare in amazement at all of the lights and decorations and sing along to my favorite carols. This year we've really been trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and my heart warms through and through when I see both of my children to gaze in wonderous awe at the baby Jesus in any nativity scene.

We went to see The Nativity Ballet performance by the Steps of Faith dance company this past week and it was really lovely. They did such a great job! J and I went to get our hair done this weekend too...J's first professional haircut. It looks so cute!

All of the shopping is complete, my wrapping is done, tomorrow is cleaning and laundry day. Tuesday we'll be helping set up our Church at the Civic Center for the Christmas Eve service. I know it will be beautiful!

We've had a TON of rain this past week. Perfect for a puddle-jumping, mud-pie-making exploration for the girls. They had a blast!

A Dgrin Day

Yesterday I tried something new with the Dgrin Challenges by putting all of the entries in a gallery. With everything combined (nasty-grams from disgruntled people included), I spent over 8 hours on it. Then another two in the wee hours of the morning trying to wrap things up. My poor kids didn't get any schooling and were bored totally, so it better not take any where near as long next time! Today I plan to be much more productive (HA!).

(Photo: Another of Lana...keeping her in my prayers today)

This week has been a good one, although a little tiring. I'm still dealing with the asthma crap, and now the doctor has put me on prednisone for 4 days. He says that should wipe it out. I really hope so!

We've spent the week preparing activities for school (Nativity and Thanksgiving lapbooks, country studies, book studies, etc.). We have almost completed our study on Egypt and the coinciding lapbook, and J is sure she now wants an Abyssinian. :) We went to the Chattanooga Zoo where J had a zoo "I Spy..." to complete. She had to write the name and draw a picture of "an animal with scales, an animal with fur, an animal that lays eggs" etc. It was the first time she has really taken her time to look at the animals and it made a big impact. The zoo is laid out by continents, which is perfect for our geographical studies. We've almost got the lapbook on animals completed now too.

N is sick (again) and was running a fever all last night, super congested and pretty miserable. So...it looks like Todd will be staying home with her tomorrow while I go run the church nursery. Praise the Lord that I have Christina helping me now - it really makes me able to handle it so much better.

So, here's a cute kid story...

Dian got me some mylar balloons on my birthday and the kids have been playing with them since. Yesterday, Natalie was sitting with me, holding her ballon and breaks into the birthday song. The only thing was, she was singing "Happy Dirt Day, Dear Mommy", so she must have gotten the lyrics confused. Or maybe not.

Today I found another great website for our homeschooling (www.filefolderfun.com). It has all kinds of learning games that you use a file folder to make. I put together a couple today, using my own little added twists, and I think they're really neat. These will be especially useful for N to do while J is doing lapbooks. They have a similar look to the lapbooks, so she'll feel like she's really involved. I've got several more printed off and ready to be put together!

Well, I finally went to the doctors after coughing and wheezing for almost 3 weeks. I've got bronchitis, causing temporary asthma. Apparently my lungs were running at about 75%. Not too horrible, but at least I know why I've been so tired! I now have antibiotics and an inhaler, so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon.

Mum got through her cataract surgery fine, Mom Shinner is recovering slowly from her knee surgery, and Grandma Tina's house looks like it will be sold, so Dad and Mom Green are on standby for heading back up to Canada. It's been a busy time for the parents!

A Bit Off!

I've really been out of sorts today. Church (my part in the nursery) seemed chaotic, the lunch at Dellinger Park afterwards was nice, but I totally crashed when we got home. Thankfully Todd took J shopping so I could nap with N. I still woke up 1 1/2 hours later wishing I could keep sleeping. I'm still coughing and I'm really wishing I could be over it.

Now I need to go have a tidy up and be ready for our school time tomorrow. I have a schedule all written out...let's see how close I can stick to it!

Today has been a good day, getting just bits and pieces done. Still nice, and finished with a little bit of time working on a couple more of Lana's photos. Tomorrow is another morning at The Well. I'm still trying to organize, and my office needs to take first priority now. Maybe tomorrow...

Glamor Shot!

Today I've managed to get a good bit of school done, and dishes, and worked on a few more photos of Lana. I was working on some skin smoothing techniques and I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. I'm finally learning some new stuff...woohoo!

Time For Me

Today I took advantage of my desire to do something creative. It seems that I have really taken any photos just for the fun of it since I began running the Dgrin challenges. So, I called my friend, Lana, and worked out a deal where she'd pose for me in return for some Halloween costume shots of her daughter. What a deal, eh? Of course, I think she would have worked with me regardless. I was super pleased with how the images turned out. I'll be posting more here over the next few days, but here's one of my favorites.

Other news: We lost a rooster yesterday. We've been having extreme winds and it apparently picked the chicken coop up (a converted dog pen), then dropped it back down right after he stuck his head under it. What a way to go! Hopefully it was quick and painless, but he'd been sick since I'd gotten him and none of my medicating efforts had worked, so I guess it was a blessing. Then, last night, after Hank & Dian had reattached the tarp to the top, the wind decided it didn't like the coop there at all. It picked the whole thing up, turned it upside down and dropped it over the six foot fence and into the backyard. So, here I was, running around at 3am, catching traumatized chickens and throwing them into the old chicken coop (now a garden). Todd and I got a pretty good chuckle out of the whole scenario!

A Bit Blue

Well, Mum's gone back home and I'd be a liar if I said it didn't make me sad. I truly wish I could pop over to her house with the kids on a weekly basis for a visit, but that's just not our life. Every time we say goodbye there's too much crap that influences how I deal with it. And I'm tired and still coughing pretty hard, which doesn't make me feel too much better. I do recognize, however, that we are very blessed to have been able to have a visit, especially for my birthday. We didn't "do" much, but that made for a good visit and one that gives her a more real slice of our life.

Tomorrow will be better and I'll get back on the ball, but tonight is a time for reflecting.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, I did have a lovely day. I wish I'd been feeling better, but oh well. Mum and I did a bit more shopping, she made me a lovely cake, and we had tacos for dinner. Yum! My friend Debbie and her daughter came over, along with Todd's parents, so we had quite a little party. No better way to enjoy a birthday than with family and friends. :)

Time Flies

I can't believe Mum's visit is almost over. Two more days and she'll be headed back home. Baz is missing her terribly, and I know it will likely be a full year before I see them again. It is hard living so far away.

It's been a good visit though. We haven't really done much exciting, but it has been some quality time and conversations. And of course it's so special that she's making my birthday cake! I have been craving a Tres Leches cake, so that's what she's tackling. :) Thirty-nine is not such a daunting number, but I will start thinking of myself as forty in preparation for next year!

(Photo: Canadian Geese in the yard)

Pumpkins

Today we went with the Covenant Christian Homeschool group to the Adairsville Pumpkin Patch. It was a ton of fun, although it was a bit on the hot side. Granny arrived safe and sound and is seen here making friends with a bull.

It was a very busy day all in all, as we went to meet Todd for lunch after the fall festivities, then went grocery shopping, dashed home to stash cold goods, then took Jessica to gymnastics. A trip to the library followed before finally arriving home in time to make dinner and get ready for bed - I'm exhausted...and I'm sure Mum is too!

Blogging

So, I'm kinda liking this blogging thing. It gives me a break for a couple of minutes where I can sort my thoughts and reflect on the happenings of the day.

Todd is now sick with a sinus cold, probably the same thing the girls had last week. We went to the Lynch's without him today for a birthday party and the girls got wore out in two hours flat. I'm hoping that means they'll fall asleep quickly tonight. Tomorrow is another early morning setting up at the Well and running the nursery. I hope to get a little more decluttering done in the afternoon too. We'll see...

Fun Days

We've spent the last week studying flowers. It's been so much fun identifying the different parts of flowers, discovering pollination methods and germination. Me and the girls grabbed the Coolpix and went out to disect a bunch of different blooms and find pollen-carrying bugs and birds.

We also planted kidney beans, a sweet potato and a terrarium, and are watching them grow. J is doing so great with her reading and math too, but science is definitely our most exciting subject!

Mum arrives next week for a visit and I know that will be a ton of fun. We are really looking forward to it!

Kiddos Sick

I enjoyed my day off yesterday. I puttered around, made a roast chicken dinner and homemade ice cream, got some laundry done, did some dishes, but I really had no agenda other than to enjoy the day and my family, and to focus on God. It really was a pleasant day.

J is feeling much better, but N came down with the crud on Saturday night and now has an ear infection to go with it. I'm hoping we all get over this stuff and stay well for Mum's visit in a couple of weeks.

(Photo: 4 of the 100+ Canada Geese that were in our back yard yesterday)

Exhausted

Today was a long day with a birthday party at the mall for one of J's friends. J was still sick, but I was thinking it was a sinus infection and hoping not contagious. Well, after the party, I took the girl's clothes shopping and N went downhill fast. By the time we got home, she was running a temp of 102. Not exactly the best timing as tomorrow is the launch date for our church, and I will be staying at home. I had to call in a couple of favors to get the nursery covered, but I know they'll do a great job. Todd isn't feeling to great either, but I'm hoping he's well enough to go help out tomorrow.

So, I've spent my time since I got home tidying up (house is still a wreck) and getting stuff prepared for the nursery tomorrow. Me? Well, I plan to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Yeah, I'm actually going to try to rest tomorrow!

(Photo: Todd's Pontiac G8)

It never ends, ya know?

So, yesterday was a super busy day. I had reshot the family of six the previous night and spent the whole morning and much of the afternoon post-processing those images. Then I ran J to gymnastics, even though she was extremely tired. We went straight from there over to the Postell's, where I had a meeting with Pastor Andy regarding the church nursery. I can't believe we go to weekly services starting this Sunday! Following that, we had bible study at the Postell's and both girls fell fast asleep on the way home. By that time it was 9pm and as I put Jessica into bed, I realized she felt really hot. Indeed she had a fever and has continued with that and a lot of congestion through today. So...we haven't gotten much school done (again) but I did finally get my kitchen cleaned up, some paperwork taken care of and the bedsheets cleaned. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe I'll be a step closer to getting organized?!?!?

(Photo: N feeding a goat at Hillcrest Apple Orchard)

Still cleaning

Now that Ella is in an awesome new home, I figured it was time to scrub up the sunroom since she won't be around to trash it within 24 hours. It's now all clean, with a table for the girls to paint at, play playdough, and do our messy science experiments. One thing we'll be doing this week is making a terrarium, and we'll keep that out there as well. I'm hoping the cats behave themselves and use the litter boxes (once again, high hopes). We spent all afternoon in the sunroom and enjoying the backyard, which was totally worth it during this awesome weather.

It's funny though, I've spent the last two days cleaning, and now my house is a total mess!

(Photo: At the Apple Orchard)

Sundays

So, all day yesterday I kept thinking about how hard I was working on a Sunday and the passage I've read repeatedly lately. It goes something like: Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Probably because I've been reading about Moses in both my bible and Jessica's bible studies. And then my devotional this morning was on Leviticus 23, which repeatedly enforces resting on the Sabbath. Maybe next week I'll really try that. With all these messages being thrown at me, there must be a reason!

(Photo: Hillcrest Apple Orchard)

A Good Day

Today I have gotten quite a bit accomplished. I made dinners rolls and cinnamon rolls using freshly ground flour, then I went and push-mowed and weed-whacked the back yard. I also cleaned up a bunch of the backyard and moved some stuff around so it's now a much more pleasant space to be in. My whole body hurts now as my physical pain issues have flared up this week again anyway. Still, mega-doses of Ibuprofen and Tylenol, along with a good night of sleep should have me right as rain. Maybe I'm being a little optimistic here, but I can always hope. :)

(Photo: Pony ride at Booth Western Art Museum)

Still trying to streamline life

So this week I've had a portrait session for a family of six, spent an entire day finding a new home for my dog, and wrapped up another round of DSS . All of that has taken hours combined. What I haven't done this week = all of the school hours I needed to do with Jessica, paid the bills, kept the house clean, done the laundry, provided good meals for my family or worked on the church nursery stuff. I've also upset my best friend and forgotten several important birthdays. I'd say I'm failing miserably.

(Photo: Newborn calf in pasture across the road.)

Sad day

Today, Ella, our little terrier mix went after our two year old. It has been a long uphill battle with her and we've tried so many options, but I really think it's time we find her a new home. She's a lovely dog, just very energetic and needs to know that her owners are alpha. That just doesn't work with a 2 year old which she sees as a littermate. She is smart and strong willed, but I will still miss her terribly. Hopefully we can find her the perfect home.

(Photo: Ella)

New Blog

Wafflings and wanderings...oh yeah, whatever...just wanting to sound artsy.