Sweetness of young boy

I saw this last year and someone brought it to my attention recently and thought it was definitely worth sharing!

Midnight decorating??

This is getting out of control! haha.... My poor waistline can not handle all this cake! I had a burst of creativity tonight (9pm to be exact) so I went to it. Baking, icing, decorating. It is now midnight and I look at what has transpired. I'm very pleased.....this is one I've been wanting to do for awhile. None of these cake designs are from my own imagination. I'm not that creative! Whenever I see a cake I like, I save it to my 'cake folder'. I can't tell you how many I have saved....and I want to do them all!!!! I wish some of you lived closer so I could spread the joy :) My daughter says before bed "what is this cake for?"......to which my reply was "just trying something out"....to which hubby replied "if only these were paid orders!!" I think his waistline is spreading too *grin*.

This is a vanilla cake with vanilla filling, buttercream icing with fondant. I am anxious to see what it tastes like tomorrow. To my brother and sister-in-law....I hope you're not busy tomorrow (today) cause I need taste testers again :)

Unfinished cake

Tonight we had a fellowship at church. Hubby told me when we got home this afternoon for lunch that he told people I would bring a cake....Well I'm always excited to do a cake BUT I only had about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. I would have liked to have done alot more to this cake, but time only allowed for what you see pictured. I love the way the 2 tone roses turned out!! I love the color contrast too. To me it looks quite plain but I did get several compliments which I'm thankful for!

School desk

Oh how I love a great find!!!! We went to Children's Books...a local store that sells homeschool curriculum...and they have lots of these school desks for sale! We have had such a hard time finding desks for the kids that are sturdy and inexpensive. We ended up getting a beautiful desk for our daughters room to match her decor, but I would have loved to found a cheaper one. Just some place to sit and do her studies in her room where it is quiet. Well, our boys now have their own desks....yay! So onto the price.....$10!!!! You can't find desks for $10! It didn't take much to clean them up either. Love it!!!

Hors'in around

I decided to try another cake today. I've been wanting to try marshmallow fondant (which is what the grass, fence and horse are made out of). It was really easy to make and work with, so I'm pleased and look forward to making another one! It's harder now with school starting up....but I will always find time for cake decorating!! *smile*

Peek-a-boo

Just being funny ( 18 months old )

Teaching non-school age kids

Here are just a few of the exercises I go over with my 3 1/2 year old for his 'schooling' time. There are so many resources on the internet!!! I have listed some websites along with the worksheets and some below.....

http://www.kidzone.ws/ is full of great stuff
(matching the same pictures)

(circle the one that's different)

http://www.toddlerpreschool.com/

(recognizing numbers and instructions)

(learning our lowercase letters)

http://www.justmommies.com/

http://www.akidsheart.com/ (learning to write your numbers)

(number worksheets)

Love this lesson today!!! I gave him this worksheet to do on his own. No help, no guidance, not even looking over his shoulder....this is what he brought me when he was finished. Way to go!!

...here are some websites I use covering all grades....

http://learningpage.com

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets.html

http://www.worksheetuniverse.com/

http://www.tlsbooks.com/

http://www.abcteach.com/

http://www.dositey.com/2008/index-page-free_activities.php

www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm

www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets

www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/language_arts/handwriting/

www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/qt/printables.htm

www.schoolexpress.com

www.coloringpages.net

www.worldatlas.com/webimage/testmaps/maps.htm

http://www.activityvillage.co.ukprintable_lined_paper.htm/

www.certificatemaker.com/html/create_school.cfm

http://funschool.kaboose.com/index.html (Games)

Excitement

She has NOT STOPPED talking about this since we got home last night!! Needless to say, she's a little excited :)

We took her to have her ears pierced. She already had set in her mind which ones she wanted....her birthstone. I told her that there was some pain involved but you should have seen her! All she did was squint her eyes closed and had a smile the whole time.....I was so proud of her. After it was done she said 'it really didn't hurt all that much!" In my eyes, she suddenly grew another year or so. The twinkle from the light shining off her ears and eyes just seemed to set off a little more maturity in my 'not so baby' baby girl!

Abortion survivor

All I can say is 'wow'! What a testimony.....

First day of school pics

Here are some pictures from our first day of school. Two eager learners :)

(6 years old and 3 1/2 years old)

We got a lot accomplished today and teaching 2 of them went smoother than I was expecting...but....I'm not expecting it to be smooth sailing all the time *grin* Our 3 1/2 year old is starting to learn to write his small letters. He did a great job!!

Our science class started with creation which we have discussed in the past, so there wasn't a whole lot new to learn today. It was interesting though how the lesson was set up. She cut out all the things God created in 6 days. Then I had her mix them all up and put them in random order. She soon discovered that God's plan for creation was perfect....the fish couldn't be created before the sea, the animals couldn't be created before land, and God had to be the beginning of it all for anything to be put into place! She tried several different random orders but nothing worked except for God's perfect order! It was a neat approach to our lesson!

(working on her geography lesson)

coloring!

21 Rules of this House

I have so much I could blog about today since it was our first day of school. The kids were great...very eager and our day went smoothly! Thank you Lord! I wanted to point out this book that we are starting to go through. They have several in their series which I am hoping to get later. It is a coloring book of 21 rules of the house. What great rules to teach our kids.....


The 21 Rules Of This House by Gregg Harris
1. We obey our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. We love, honor and pray for one another.
3. We tell the truth.
4. We consider one another's interests ahead of our own.
5. We speak quietly and respectfully with one another.
6. We do not hurt one another with unkind words or deeds.
7. When someone needs correction, we correct him in love.
8. When someone is sorry, we forgive him.
9. When someone is sad, we comfort him.
10. When someone is happy, we rejoice with him.
11. When we have something nice to share, we share it.
12. When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.
13. We take good care of everything that God has given us.
14. We do not create unnecessary work for others.
15. When we open something, we close it.
16. When we take something out, we put it away.
17. When we turn something on, we turn it off.
18. When we make a mess, we clean it up.
19. When we do not know what to do, we ask.
20. When we go out, we act just as if we were in this house.
21. When we disobey or forget any of the 21 Rules of This House,
we accept discipline and instruction.

Today being day 1, we went over our first rule, colored our page, sang the Obedience song and looked up an important verse in the Bible about being obedient! (Eph 6:1) We discussed how being obedient to Mommy and Daddy is showing obedience to God. I'm looking forward to the rest of our rules :)

McGuffey Readers

I've been searching on Ebay for these McGuffey readers for quite awhile. I am very interested in the way kids learned language arts many years ago. Seems as though kids today are horrible when it comes to sentence structure and spelling...even their reading level!! I found this bundle of McGuffey readers and also the Speller....I'm so excited!

I need to sit and finish up my schedule tonight as well since we are starting school tomorrow! I am leaning towards a "Friday Fun Day". I have several games to help with learning that I'm excited about.

This one has been ordered.....Equate.
It is set up like a scrabble board
but you do math equations instead.
I really think this is going to help our oldest.

I'm looking forward to this game.

Sequence is all about learning

your states and their capitals.

Players match the state shape

and color on the card to the

same state shape and color

on the board and when you have

5 in a row, that is a sequence!

We are going to start learning

about every state this year (we

will see how many we get through!)

First we will begin with the 13

colonies....

We also have Sudoku for kids
which will help with her thinking
and comprehension skills ....

I know I've said this many times.... but I'm really looking forward to this year :)

Come What May

This movie is now available
on dvd. It is done by a group
of 40 homeschool students
about the subject of
'when life really begins'.
It is an excellent movie!!

Watch the trailer below....

An apple a day....

No one likes going to the doctor. Not even for regular annual checkups. But they are very important, and if you do not go on an annual basis, I encourage you to do so! Today I had my first mammogram (don't worry....I won't get graphic :) It really wasn't as bad as what I've heard. Everything looked great, praise the Lord!
On a serious note though, I do want to encourage you, if you do not visit your doctor regularly, to do so. Annual appointments, although not flattering-quite intimidating- and nerve wracking- is an important way to make sure that you stay healthy....women AND men!
enough said..........

Smores

Tonight our visitors are packing up and getting ready for the long 14 hour trek home to Canada. We ended our evening with a campfire and smores. It was a perfect evening and a great week (although the weather didn't cooperate like we had hoped). This afternoon we had the kids out playing for a while and I got burnt!!! I'm RED. Actually tingly.....not a good sign. Doesn't help that only half my face was in the sun so I look a little odd right now :)

Here are some pictures from our enjoyable evening....

Sunshiny day

Today has been absolutely beautiful!! We have gone from snow, to sun, then cold and rainy, and back to sun again in just a matter of weeks. The kids had fun outside on the play equipment and we went shopping today. The kids have been couped up in the house for several days, so I know they enjoyed being outside in the sunshine! We took a trip to Hobby Lobby and Target, and our oldest wanted to bring her money along and buy something for everyone. It was the first time she went through the checkout by herself and counted out her money. She was very excited! Now all the kids are on the floor coloring in their new coloring books :) I've got the window open letting in the cool breeze and enjoying the smell of fresh air.....aaaahhhhhh. Looks like spring is coming!

Blankets

Today we have been making some no-sew blankets. My friend made Tinkerbell for her daughter and a jungle theme for her son. I am going to be making the same jungle theme for my boys as well. It sure went alot faster with the 2 of us working on them! I posted the instructions before under 'no sew blankets' for how we did it.


We have been enjoying their company very much. We often end our evenings around the kitchen table or in the livingroom discussing spiritual things. What a wonderful time of fellowship to be able to discuss similar desires and share the same focus, and to look forward to the same things in life and for eternity! It's special to have these kind of friendships :)

Dishwasher mishap

So....hubby was in charge of putting the dishwasher on. Not a problem...he's done it before! Unfortunately this time we were out of dishwasher soap so he thought take the next best thing! Dishsoap. Well, as you can see below, dishsoap is not intended for the dishwasher :) We are scooping and rinsing, scooping and rinsing.....get the picture? What a mess....guess it's one of those 'learn from your mistakes' lessons.

Great day...

The bridal shower went well....the cake was good....people complimented :) I'm happy! It was nice meeting our cousin's fiance today and we look forward to their wedding come June (in Alabama!) We are going to turn it into a homeschooling adventure and visit some places that we are going to be studying. Field trip!!
By the time we got home this evening, our friends had made a delicious supper for us. I tried Risotto for the first time and enjoyed it...much to my surprise. I am not a big rice lover but this was actually very tasty. We had so much chicken left over, we are having homemade chicken soup for lunch after church.
But now it's off to bed.....

Bridal cake...

The cake is done!!!! and I am thrilled with the results :) It took ALL day to do, from the baking to the icing to the decorating, but it was so worth it. It is the first tiered cake I've done. I also tried the basketweave technique as well which I have discovered I love doing (I feel another cake coming on...) We are going to hubby's cousin's bridal shower tomorrow and meeting her fiance for the first time. It will be nice to get together with the family and celebrate this special upcoming day with them. Here are some pictures of the cake.......

And to top off the evening, as if I wasn't excited enough, my dear friends that are visiting from Canada this week surprised me with this!!!! A wonderful mixer!!!! After they saw me spend 40 mins. making a batch of buttercream icing by hand, I think they felt sorry for me *smile* What special friends they are....Thank you so very much!!!

Company's coming...

We are waiting for company to arrive tonight from Canada. They have been good friends of ours for a long while now (despite the fact I never return her calls....I know!!!). We were both married within weeks of each other and our children and around the same age....so I know we are going to spend an enjoyable week together. So now we sit and wait....and watch out the window :)

Biblical Prophesy

Interesting video on the biblical prophesy of the ancient city of Tyre.

Garden of life

I thought this was appropriate since I just posted that we planted a garden. This was found at http://blog.ivman.com/ .
Here's a great way to plant your garden of daily living:
Plant three rows of peas:
1. Peas of mind
2. Peas of heart
3. Peas of soul
Plant four rows of squash:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness
Plant four rows of lettuce:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another
No garden without turnips:
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
To conclude our garden, we must have thyme:
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There will be much fruit in your life garden because you will surely reap what you sow.

Cakes by Alissa

I have added a slideshow on the left of cakes I've made. I hope to continue adding to it!! I will be making a bridal shower cake this weekend so I am very excited to see how that will turn out. It's grander than what I have done so far :) I'm going to be trying several new techniques so I hope all goes well!!

How does your garden grow...

We are attempting another garden this year. Last years did not turn out well. Our tomatoes were tiny, our corn didn't even make it, and we got maybe a handful of beans... Our soil here is red clay which does not help for producing a bountiful garden! Since we are trying it in the same spot, the soil looks a little better this time around and we are going to add some Miracle Grow. This year we will attempt corn, beans, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli and cantalope. Maybe we will get a little more rain this year too which will help!!

Here are the kids helping daddy (more like getting dirty) and finishing off the day with a 'little bike' race.

Phonics

Hubby found this clever tool at Big Lots today for a great price. It's a chalkboard on one side and a magnetic/dry erase board on the other. We got it out tonight and I thought I would try some phonics on our 3 1/2 year old. I could not believe how quickly he was picking this up!!! I was laying words out infront of him and he was sounding them out really well....both mommy and daddy were quite surprised AND excited!! We did 'at' words 'ot' words and 'et' words.
I had to grab my camera :)

It's a shame...

This may be old news to some but it is something I just found out right now....shocking, disappointing, emotionally disturbing! I was going through a songbook at the piano singing for hubby and we came across a few Ray Boltz songs. Although he is not someone that I knew much about, his songs were nice to sing and had good messages...very emotional songs! We started looking up some of his songs on the internet and came across several comments that he has offended many Christians. We discovered that in September of 2008, after 30 years of marriage, he has come 'out of the closet' and announced he is gay (he is now divorced and living a gay lifestyle).
How disturbing...and disappointing, when you have someone in the public eye who is a professing believer fall into such sin.
He was interviewed for a gay magazine and had this to say ...

“I’d denied it ever since I was a kid. I became a Christian, I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, ‘I’m still gay. I know I am.’..“This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”

It's a shame.....

Shout your praises...

The Lord has been meeting a lot of needs lately and I want to praise Him for that. Our God promises to meet our needs and He continues to do so....even in the midst of uncertainty. I want to thank God for continually providing for us....for His blessings and the people He uses as well. I thank God for allowing us to get a tax refund and paying off some debt we had. I thank God for the food provisions He has been blessing us with. I thank God for the free toddler bed (with mattress!!) we recieved this week for our youngest who is getting close to upgrading from his crib :) We had been pricing out toddler beds recently and wondering what to do about sleeping arrangements in the upcoming months, and we got a phone call the other day wondering if we could use one!!! Thank you Lord! I also may have my first cake order coming up....how exciting :)
However you lift your praises up to the Lord....whether you shout, sing or just speak them....I hope you give God all the glory!!

numbers

I've been working with our 3 year old on writing his numbers. Numbers seem to be harder to master than Letters. So far he can do 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 very well. It is so much fun to watch him get things correct :) I get a hug every time I praise him for writing a number correctly. Gotta love that !!! It will be interesting to see what type of a learner he becomes. That's another thing I love about homeschooling....you can tailor lessons to each child on how they learn best. Are they very visual, do they like things explained in detail, do they get alot from reading books about subjects or do they learn better hands-on and being creative.... You learn alot about your children when you teach them! Here is our final work from today's number lesson.

I see I got the date wrong :)

Preparation Time....

We will be starting up school in another 2 weeks or so! I've been getting everything put together for our new year. Our 6 year old will be starting Grade 2 and our 3 1/2 year old will be going through Kindergarten. Some people have asked why I don't follow the regular school year (starting in the Fall). Last year we began school in May and ended this past January. I'm taking off enough time to prepare for our next year and will start up again towards the end of this month. I have found that when my kids are not in a regular school routine, they become very bored. They enjoy learning and are constantly asking to read books about dinosaurs or science or history.....so why put off learning when they are so eager!! That's one of the many things I love about homeschooling...you are not boxed in to a certain time schedule nor do you need to hold your children back if they are ready to move on.

Here is a binder of all of our daughters' Grade 1 work over the past year. It will be a quick and easy reference to go back through when I am ready to start teaching it to our younger children. I have already heard our daughter say 'school is going to start soon'!!!......How I love that!!! I pray their eagerness will continue because it sure makes my job a little easier :)

Our bookshelf is stacked and ready to go!! I found so many wonderful resources for this year! I came across a great Kid's study bible that we will be using for Bible class. We are going to be learning alot about Godly characteristics this year. I also love our science, history and language resources!

I'm still trying to figure out our exact weekly schedule. It will be different with 2 full time now and a toddler! I could certainly use your prayers as I head into this new year of teaching. Last year was definitely a growing experience and I look forward to what I will learn this year as well as the kids :)

Just too cute...

Oh they can be so cute ....

I love capturing these precious expressions!

Where did our sunny south go??

In a matter of half an hour, we went from bare to snow covered! Can I just say the kids are excited (not to mention daddy!) We had to go out for a little while and have some fun since this is only our 2nd snowfall this winter. I'm very thankful this didn't happen while we were up in the mountains!