Straw Art

One of the best tools for craft ideas is Pinterest! If you aren't a Pinterest groupie...you are missing out!! Here was this weeks Pinterest try:


Food Color Art

It was so easy, and the kids loved it!

All you need is- 

Food Coloring

Paper

straws

Put a drop of food coloring on the paper and let the fun begin! You use the straw to blow the drop of color...

  

We've done a lot of sorting, ABC's and writing letters this week for the youngest 2, and review, review, review for the older 2. We've also started Spanish. My Mr. and I are both pretty fluent in Spanish, and use it when talking about Christmas presents, so he and I may have to resort to Chinese....

In not so school business, I am so ready for fall!! Give me coffee, open windows and football! :) I have a lot of Fall/Halloween crafts to share. 

Mohr Monsters are back in action!!

SCHOOL TIME!! :)

Joelle (Kindergarten)

Jesse Ava (Pre-K)

Jaela (4th grade)

Jonah (First Grade)

The 2012-2013 school year is off to a great start. I have one 4th grader, one 1st grader, one in Kinder, and a pre-schooler. The busy life is about to kick back in. School, volleyball, 2 in soccer..... I love our crazy busy life! To celebrate a great school year starting, we went to dinner at Cafe Express (-my new found favorite, thanks to Carol & Chrissy :)) and we topped off the day with a trip to Bucee's for treat, and came home to make a GIANT tent...

I am so thankful for our little adventure that is Homeschool! 

Beauty.

There is a lot to respect about a beautiful person, and raising a daughter has a lot of very important moments, but to me, instilling in my daughters that they are "fearfully and wonderfully made" is key.

Beauty is a very easily misunderstood characteristic.

1 Peter 3:3-4

New Living Translation (NLT)

³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

God made us in his image. 

What exactly is beauty? The Dove Campaign asked women and found that:

• Seventy-seven percent strongly agree that beauty can be achieved through attitude, spirit, and other attributes that have nothing to do with physical appearance.
• Eighty-nine percent strongly agree that a woman can be beautiful at any age.
• Eighty-five percent state that every woman has something about her that is beautiful

(info from www.focusonthefamily.com)

In that study, only 2% of women thought of themselves as beautiful. 

 I was thinking about how God loves us and how much time & effort He put into our design- unique to us.

Think of the people who think you are beautiful- Mom, Dad, siblings, other family, friends, husband...ect. Most importantly GOD. The one who created the entire earth and everything in it created you in His image. You are one of a kind, like a rare beautiful art piece. Not another single person in the world amounts to your beauty. He picked you, hand crafted you and wants you. It's what is inside of you that makes you beautiful. A spirit of joy, peace, love, kindness, gentleness, self control, self worth, and Godliness. You are representing a barbie doll-> HIM.... 

"You are fearfully and wonderfully made"

                                                                     Psalm 139:14

Dust off the ole blog...

I've taken a long time off from blogging, and it's time to pick it back up!

Our summer has been fun so far! We've enjoyed a few small trips, had lots of company and a few times of being face first on our knees in prayer. Right now is one of the prayer times...and we need your prayer support.
Jeremiah's dearest friend Aaron Logan (www.aaronloganmusic.com) was badly injured in a car accident last week. This is an amazing guy that holds such a special place in our family. Leading worship, writing music and loving people like Jesus are his life. Our kids are in awe of him and absolutely love him. He and Jeremiah have been friends for 26-27 years! J went to the hospital last week to see him. He was heavily sedated with a broken neck, broken sternum, and several bad cuts on his face/head. He had the privilege of praying over him along with two other friends. As Jeremiah prayed, tears fell down Aaron's face... He has an amazing family that we love so much, and we have an even more amazing HEALER. We are standing in faith for our sweet friend!!!! Please pray for the Logan family.

For updates follow http://www.facebook.com/getwell.aaron

Aaron's songs are so prophetic for this time, and I cannot wait to see the mighty ways that God & Aaron use this situation!!
You can download his music here:www.aaronloganmusic.com

Thanks for your prayers!

Jess :)

The queen kite flyer, Jesse Ava!

We had a great day on Saturday. I bought cheap kites for the kids this past week, and they were so excited to try them out. It was so fun! We flew kites for about 2 hours. Jesse Ava was the best little kite flyer. Needless to say, we wore them out!

  

Run sister!! Keep that kite up!

 We wore them out. They ran the length of the field over and over! Best $1.50 or so that I've spent!!!
               

Joelle would rather pick flowers!

 That night we had our small group get together. I am very excited to see this group grow and live life together. We have some awesome people that have such great hearts. I am so very thankful for the gained friendships and family we have in this group. I am looking forward to what God has for us! 
Everything was fine......until.... ha. Around 1am Jesse Ava woke up screaming. I met her on the stairs and found that her left side (hair, face & pj shirt) was covered in yucky ear goop. Also, she had thrown up in her bed. I knew from experience, that her ear drum had busted. Her's has busted 3 times now within about 2 years. She was in a lot of pain. I could not get her to calm down. High fever, screaming, squirming...for about an hour and a half. I gave up. I took her to the ER. They got us in so very quickly and were amazing with her. Our doc was so great with kids! He drew her pictures, printed out Disney pictures and they gave her princess crayons. -All while she screamed away.

Sweet girl. It is so hard to see your kids hurt,  and not be able to stop the pain.

Such a good attitude...and fake smile! :)

We could hear a man a few rooms down yelling for the nurse and saying "OOOOOUCH!!!!! NURSE!!!!!" I think it scared Jesse Ava. She was hurting but very concerned for this guy. In her tears she said "Mommy! We have to pray for that man. Thank you Jesus for that guy. Make him feel better in Jesus name, amen." Let's remember that she is 2 years old... My heart melted and was so proud. When our doctor came back in she was still crying but was sure to tell him that he needed to pray for that guy too. I think it caught him off guard, and he just said- wow...ooook. lol.
Jesse Ava finally calmed down and was feeling better. She was set on giving one of her colored pictures to "That Man", so we asked the nurse to take it to him. On our way out the doctor said "Mom, you must be doing something right."
Now, I don't know about that, BUT I do know that showing the love of God is very important in a million ways. I know that prayer works, and I know that I want to live with a child-like faith.

God, I am so very thankful for the gifts that you have given me. Especially the 4 crazy ones. I am blessed by their hearts and faith on a daily basis. Please continue to bless, protect, and use my children. Help us old people have a child-like faith. ~Amen



Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.  ~Rabindranath Tagore 

Garden Time!!

We planted our garden this week. Tomatoes, bell pepper (two kinds) onions, cucumbers, strawberries, and cantaloupe. I think that's all... It's been one of those weeks. I might be crazy by bed time tonight! :)

Our yummy pancakes and muddy fun... Great mix huh??!!

While planting, we found rolly pollies and some interesting bugs/worms. The kids also enjoyed some mud play... We also celebrated National Pancake Day in the UK. -Thanks to my sweet friend, Clair Berry. Family came to visit us over last weekend. We went to play Laser Tag and celebrated Jeremiah's birthday. Lots of fun around here!!---We did school work too, I promise :)

catching up on pics

Valentines Day treats

Reading Valentines Day books

It has rained so much, so the dogs have had a bath EVERY DAY!

We saw Journey 2- Great family movie! No cussing at all.

     

Red Velvet Cream Cheese cupcakes!! Thanks to my friend Eva :)

http://pinterest.com/pin/259871840968010847/

The great closet clean out! All clothes fit and are in one place :) 

Lady the Great takes Jesse Ava for a walk!

More pictures to come. We were blessed beyond words a few weeks ago by a friend, Linda. She sent a box of fun crafts, computer games galore, and a fun multiplication fact learning CD. The kids LOVE getting mail, and it was such an amazing lesson for them in giving. I do not know Linda very well at all...and the kids were amazed that she sent them stuff and cared about them without knowing them. We are so very thankful!!!!

My weakness. My biggest fear.

February 19th 1997. That is my biggest weakness. Also known as death. On this day, 15 years ago I became terrified of death or loss. This day started a mud slide of fear and horrible emotion for me. Being 14 years old and living through the loss of 7 people that I cared about in only 3 months time. At the age of 14, that is a lot to comprehend...and who really comprehends death anyway?
Babysitting was my life at that age. To be honest, my dad (at the time...and I am proud to say he is a very changed man. I am very VERY proud of who he is now. I do not talk about it very often on this blog, out of respect for my parents...) But, my dad was an alcoholic. I covered my pain and fear of that situation by babysitting. A lot. I could take responsibility for a child, protect them and control a safe environment for them, without worrying about my current situation. The Raburn and Parks families became my "safe place." Austin, Justin- twins, & Caroline and Annie made me light up. I would beam with joy when I heard the boys call me "Jekka" :)
On February 19th, I found myself in the hospital waiting room. I could hear the screams of Janet as they pronounced Justin dead. ---Truth- I broke down just typing that word.

Let's see if I can finish this. Janet's car washed off the road in the heavy rain and high water. She was able to get Austin out of the car, but Justin washed away.

I am thankful for my time with the Raburn family. I have wonderful memories with them. Today, I celebrate sweet Justin Aaron. What a precious, happy little boy. Can't wait to see him again. God, please cover this family in your loving peace. I know that they hate this day. I do too. God bless you, John, Janet, Austin & Shaela.  

Happy Birthday Jonah!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet 6 year old boy, Jonah!! 

We love you!

Chipmunk cheek baby boy!

       Funny little guy picking Sam Houston's nose...

Sweet boy giving Grandma Henderson a kiss at Grandpa's funeral.

Arrrrgggg Matey! Birthday 2010

Love this boy, to the moon!!!

Auto-pilot needs patience.

As a homeschooling mom of 4, sometimes life is on auto-pilot. I push through our daily routine over and over. Same ole, same ole. Wake up, breakfast, COFFEE, school work, lunch, COFFEE, chores, snack, errands, COFFEE, cook dinner, bath, bed, breathe....repeat.
I am not the most patient person in the world, and I have pretty high standards for my children. Sometimes they don't move fast enough or clean their rooms "the right way", and they ask a million questions a minute. They follow me around the house, holding on to my shirt, and I can't remember the last time I went to the bathroom by myself. Who knew the bathroom had a door on it?- Not my kids. About 100 times a day, you will hear me say- Get along or go to bed! No bathroom words! Say excuse me! Get off the dog, she isn't a horse! Get off the counter top! Be nice to your sister! Jonah Mathew! Jesse Ava, put clothes on! The list could go on forever.

The original Webster's dictionary offers this definition of patience: "the suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness, from a kind of heroic pride, or from a Christian submission to the divine will."

The most painful words in that definition are- "endurance without murmuring" UGH!! ouch. Daily, my husband gets home only for me to run through my tough or frustrating moments of the day. Endurance without murmuring...I'm gonna have to work on that one. I can't imagine God turning to someone in heaven saying,"UGH!! Did you see Jessica make that poor choice?!, Did you hear her cuss when she stepped on that lego?! She prayed the wrong way, and not the way I wanted her to!"  Instead He says to us- "It's ok. Make an effort to do better tomorrow. I have grace for you, and I know your heart."
My day always seems better when I make an effort to find joy in the little things. God is proud of you, no matter how many times you have complained, murmured or been short tempered.

 1 Timothy 1:16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.


“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them– every day begin the task anew.”  ~ Francis de Sales



God, please cover me with your patience and open my eyes to see joy in the little things. I am so thankful for my sweet kids, and the time I get to spend with them. You have blessed me beyond measure. Today I am turning off the auto-pilot and living in the beauty of the day. Thank you for this new day! Amen.

Think outside the box.

When I was little, the best toy was a big 'ole cardboard box! My kids feel the same way...

 I told them to create something that will entertain. A puppet stage is what they came up with. :)