Happy Birthday, Jose!

Happy Birthday to my amazing husband. The girls and I love you more than you can imagine. It has been so awesome watching the Lord work through you as you are faithful to your call in His kingdom. Your homecoming is still my highlight each day you go to work and our home is happier when you're here. May your birthday and every day be blessed!

MFW Blog Roll

I'm so excited! I saw this button on Bridget's blog and I had to click since I'm a My Father's World curriculum fan. It lists a bunch of moms using the same publisher for homeschool curriculum so everyone can share what they are doing. I've already found some terrific ideas and can't wait to find more!

PDA

And by PDA I don't mean Personal Digital Assistant. I mean Public Displays of Affection. Has anybody else noticed people more frequently and publicly displaying their affection lately? Well I have and NOTHING bothers me more! I'm all for holding hands, walking with an arm around eachother, or a quick peck. But all those lovebirds out there have had me blushing lately! Seriously, in the children's section of a department store in the middle of the aisle?! Come on! (sigh) Okay, I feel better I got to vent a bit. Thanks for letting me rant.

Such A Sweetheart

Yesterday I had my monthly dr. visit but this time it was with his nurse practitioner who also happens to be his wife. I just love her! She found my baby's heartbeat (music to my ears!) and then started asking me about my previous miscarriages, especially since I'm 17 weeks now which is only 1 week earlier than when I lost Elizabeth. She was so nice! She said that to put my mind at ease I can go in anytime she is in the office and she'll do a quick ultrasound scan to be sure everything is ok...like every week if I want to! I so appreciated her concern. So far things are going well and I can feel little nudges and kicks more each day (in fact he/she must know I'm writing about it cause its kicking me now!). I've done my best not to live in fear with this pregnancy and the Lord has been so faithful. So next appt. is Oct. 15th...is it a boy or a girl??? Lord-willing we'll find out then!

Fall!

Oh just look at all the Autumn goodness on here. I LOVE the colors of Fall! It may be a super hot, dry, windy day but oh well. I need some kind of Autumn around me, even if it just is my blog.

Pottery Jars

Our theme for the school year is Bible history from Genesis to Revelation. So right now the kids are learning about how the Bible was written on scrolls and kept in pottery jars. So yesterday we made our own small jars and stuck tiny brown scrolls inside. Fun! These are the little hands-on things I've been wanting to do again and we're finally doing them. It gets the information in the kids' brains and they have fun while doing it (I have fun, too!).

Fun at the Fair

On Thursday we took our annual fieldtrip to the fair. We had a great time and I am happy to report we did not have to leave early due to my allergies (unlike last year!). After meeting up with our homeschool group we split off and headed to see the animals. Of course we loved seeing them all, especially the piglets and lambs...so precious! Although, the sheep and goats got a little crazy so we got outta their petting zoo pretty quick. Then my very gracious dad met us there...he's such a trooper! He had a meeting that morning in Riverside and rushed out to meet us. He didn't even get to change out of his dark long-sleeved shirt and dark pants. It was 97 degrees that day! Annie earned 9 free rides by doing book reports. Bekah also made book reports even though the minimum grade to participate was Kindergarten. The lady at the booth was so gracious and gave Bek a few ride tickets for her hard work. Here are a few pics of our day:




One of Annie's FAVORITE foods is corn on the cob. She always cleans the cob.

The kids pet a baby alligator in the dinosaur display building.

The girls each had a rag doll made. They were are so cute and the girls absolutely love playing with them. They named them Rose and Frances (after their own middle names).

They got a kick out of the little red school house and the slates the children used to use instead of paper.

Both girls got to sew a little.

One of my kids' favorite insects is a preying mantis so they were excited when they found this photo opp. We get them in our yard often and the other day Annie said, "I think preying mantises come to our house because they know we like to pray."

Lovin' My Saturday Mornings

A couple months ago I asked my hubby if I could take a few hours on Saturday mornings to do my grocery/household shopping ALONE. You moms know how it is loading and unloading little ones who can't stand grocery shopping and want all the sweets and expensive stuff. And of course they always have to use the bathroom when you're out. And they fight over riding in/pushing the cart. And they touch everything in the checkout line that they're not supposed to. Okay well maybe yours don't, but mine do. So I now treasure my Saturday mornings when I get up and leave by 6:30, sing along to praise music on the radio, head to Starbucks for some good decaf (usually good-decaf is an oxymoron), do a few lesson plans for the next couple weeks while I'm there, and head out to more than one supermarket to get good prices and no crowds. I come home to bright-eyed and bushy-tailed children who are happy to see me (or maybe its the week's worth of new food they didn't have to shop for they're happy to see!), and a wonderful husband who frees me up each week. I love my Saturday mornings!

Blown Away

Wow! God is good! This morning we had our first Spanish ministry service. It was packed out! The first room we had reserved did not hold all the people the Lord brought so halfway through worship they announced we would be changing rooms. We made the quick journey to another building and guess what...we packed out that room as well! The worship was a blessing and the message was magnificent (okay, okay so I'm a little biased)! Actually I didn't understand all that much but I sure enjoyed being there and witnessing God's answer to prayer in bringing so many to hear the Word in Spanish. We saw roughly 150 people in attendance. Alright so about 100 were our family members (j/k). Actually, our prayer is not for a huge crowd, but a crowd that is hungry for God's Word. We will see what the Lord will do in the near future!

Today was just a blessing overall. It was a beautiful day and it was so wonderful to see so much of our family come to church and just all be together. And Jose and I were both so encouraged all morning as so much of our church family prayed for us and were just excited with us, sharing the anticipation and joy of a new adventure. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us...and please, keep those prayers coming! :)

Say "Ahhh"

Annie had a very successful dental visit yesterday. No cavities!!! Why is it that as the dentist was looking at her x-rays my heart was pounding and I was dreading to hear if there were any cavities, feeling like I would be a bad mom if so? Would it be my fault if there had been? The only disappointing news for Annie is that according to her x-rays, it will be another year before she loses any baby teeth. She has been anxiously waiting for a loose tooth but she'll have to wait a little longer. I was relieved to hear that's normal. Someone had even told me, "ooh, they might have to pull her baby teeth to let the others come down." Thanks for the encouragement. j/k Anyway, Bekah was such a crack up (we can always count on her for some comedy). She sat in a chair watching Annie and making comments the whole time. She also received a balloon and goodies (even though she did nothing to earn them). The one thing she didn't get that Annie did was a cute little 2-minute hourglass to remind her how long to brush for. Even though she wants one, Bekah says she won't go to the dentist until she is 6. We'll see about that...

Help Is On The Way...

Yay! I got to order my new curriculum I've been wanting! After a very sweet mom who homeschools in our group let me come over and check out the curriculum I've been praying about and eyeing, Jose said I could go ahead and order it. I am so excited! I think the girls are going to enjoy going through the history of the Bible on their own level, as well as throw in some geography and science. There should be much more creativity going on when we get in to it. I will keep using A Beka for the language arts and handwriting portion of school and Saxon for math. This is only my 2nd year homeschooling and I feel like I am just scratching the surface of how to go about it all.

Grateful

Lately I've just been feeling so grateful that I can be a stay-at-home mommy. It is seriously a privilege that not everyone has. We may not drive new cars or own a big home or buy designer clothes (which of course are not bad things and hey, maybe one day we will have them), but I get to be with my childen and have the freedom to do what needs to be done during the day. I do not have to fight crowds in the stores on the weekends or evenings, I don't have to cram laundry all into Saturday, I don't have to worry about taking time off work if a child gets sick, etc. My husband works hard everyday to provide for his family and allow me to be home. And I work hard everyday to make his life a bit easier with meals and clean/ironed clothes and errands that need to be run, etc. This works so well for our family. And for any moms out there who read this and also work outside the home, I ADMIRE you! I do not know how you do it every day. Seriously. And having felt sick with being pregnant the last three months, I couldn't help but think of how much harder my life would be if I went to work, too. I know there are seasons in life and my season as a stay-at-home mom could be for my whole life or could change next month. We never know what life will bring, but I am so grateful to the Lord for this season I am in right now.

Baby Update

I really wanted to post my most recent ultrasound picture but I think my scanner hates me, so that's not happening soon. I had my appointment last Thursday (at 13 weeks) and the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat. Of course a million thoughts raced through my mind, primarily about my daughters and what I would say to them. So after a couple minutes he did an ultrasound and, lo and behold, there was a VERY active little baby in there with a beating heart and long arms and legs doing some funky dance. = ) It was a relief and a thrill and I'm still amazed at how this all works. I mean, there is a living, growing human being inside me. It still blows my mind and kind of freaks me out. But more than anything it makes me thankful for the blessing the Lord is allowing me to have. Thankfully the nausea has mostly worn off and I'm just tired now. In the next couple weeks I am looking forward to some new energy (Lord-willing)! I guess I'm showing enough to not hide it as I received a few belly rubs yesterday. I warned them that it's mostly all the fat that has been pushed out...the baby is still pretty small. Ha!! Annie and Bekah are still thrilled about our new baby and daily talk to him/her. As far as names we're leaning towards Charlotte if it's a girl and Joseph if it's a boy...though that can all change.

Homeschooling Update

We began our school year in early August and so far it's been , eh, okay I guess. The curriculum I chose has absolutely served it's purpose in being incredibly strong academically. But I'm bored! I miss my old curriculum terribly but have already invested in my new one. It isn't all bad, I mean Annie is learning cursive and doing a fantastic job, the kids are flying through the phonics, and we are picking up math where we left of last year. But the fun and imagination are gone. So I'm on a quest to find the balance - the balance between strong academics, biblical content and concepts weaved throughout, hands-on learning, and the joy that comes from learning and accomplishing goals.

Un Ministerio Nuevo

If you understand Spanish, you'll know my title says "A New Ministry" (I hope it does...I'd better check with Jose on the accuracy!). Anyway, I'm excited to share with everybody that my hubby gets to teach the new Spanish ministry beginning at our church starting next Sunday, September 13th. We are looking forward to what the Lord will do through it. There are already so many servants who have signed up to help out. I'm still praying about what my role is and how to best help out Jose and the ministry. I will be there to support him and do what I can with my limited Spanish. Most importantly I will be praying for him and everyone else involved, especially those who have yet to commit themselves to Jesus Christ. Will you please add this ministry to your prayers? Also, pray for my husband - as I've stated before he is superman and now he will be juggling work full time, school full time, teaching a full Bible study weekly, oh yes and his daughters and pregnant wife.