Church and birds

Kind of a mixed post today.... Here are some pics of the basement while we were getting ready for our first church service.  Those that have seen our basement will probably be surprised at how empty it now is!!  We managed to clear out the entire one side of the basement to hold our service.  At the door entry, we have a coffee and snack table set up (for after service fellowship).  The front has a t.v. set up for presentation purposes (our teaching elder likes to use slides while he teaches).  We set up about 30 chairs to start with but have room for upwards of 50 people if we need it.  Hopefully by that point we will have found a church building to meet in!  Exciting times ahead!!!

Another interesting thing this week was the bluejays that showed up!  We had over 65 birds on our lawn and most of them were bluejays.  I have never seen so many at one time!  It was quite the sight :)

Sunday worship

This Sunday is a very exciting Sunday for us.  Several families out in our area are going to begin a new ministry and we will be meeting in our basement for the time being.  We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us!  We have been busy emptying all our boxes (that were not unpacked since we've moved in!) and tidying up to make room to hold about 40-50 people.  Please keep us in your prayers :)

First birthday

Our little gal turned one year old last week.  Unfortunately she had a mild fever on her birthday so we postponed the celebration for several days.  We had hubby's uncle and his family visiting during the same week which was wonderful!  The kids had such a great time together and it was a very relaxing and enjoyable time with one another.  There were lots of sad faces towards the end of the week when they had to head back home!!  We can't wait for them to come back for a visit :)
Here are a few pics of the birthday girl.

2 yr old version of 'ABC's'

Glad to see this little gal back to her normal self again.  Here is a song for you!

She's better

So, so very thankful that our girl's fever is gone!!  I switched my homeopathic remedy last night from Belladonna to Gelsemium (Belladonna was for a perspiration fever and hers was a dry fever) and soon after that her feet started warming up which had been ice cold for the past 3 days.  Never had a fever to that with the kids....hot head and body but cold extremities.  As bedtime approached, her fever starting dropping.  I didn't give her any Tylenol last night and kept checking on her.  She slept through the night with no temp from what I could tell and she has been fever free all day today!  So thankful to God for her healing.  Three days of a high fever was getting me concerned.  I really don't like when fevers get close to 103 let alone 104.5.  Praying that baby girl does not come down with it and the rest of us stay healthy and well.  Keep those hands washed!!!!  The flu is a bad one!  

The flu has hit

I was hoping to avoid the flu this year, but it seems to have hit our household.  Our 2 yr old has been dealing with it for the past 3 days now and it has not been fun....for either of us!  Her fever usually hovers around 102-103 throughout the day and goes up to 104 by bedtime (although today has been the worst and her temp is staying up at 104 for most of the day).  During the day I use essential oils (lavender, myrtle, myrrh, tea tree) on her feet/back/neck to help lower the fever and give her immunity a boost.  She is getting lots of elderberry and some colloidal silver throughout the day, and I'm using homeopathic meds to treat the fever and illness (belladonna and now gelsemium).  At night I give a dose of Tylenol so I can get a little sleep and she can be comfortable for a few hours.  Her temp goes right down and she sleeps soundly...and I don't have to be constantly checking her temp!!  Right now I'm letting her fever do its thing during the day while I monitor it.  She isn't eating but does get some fluids in her (I'm also filling her juice with sodium ascorbate - powdered Vitamin C)  From what I have heard the fever last for 6 days so we are only half way through.  I am fervently praying that baby girl (who will have her first birthday in 2 weeks) does not come down with it!!!  I'm diffusing our Thieves essential oil blend (called Immune Strength) in the baby's room and throughout the house during the day to help boost everyone's immunity, and we are all taking elderberry and colloidal silver.  Hopefully this will pass quickly and without complication.  It's so hard seeing her look so pitiful!!

Birthday girl

Twelve years old!!!  Happy birthday to our oldest!  You are becoming such a beautiful and lovely young woman.  You are such a help to us and a blessing to our family.  We are so encouraged as we see you maturing and seeking to grow your faith and relationship with God.  We love you so very much and are so excited to see what your future holds!

Happy New Year

   We were party poopers.  We didn't stay up till midnight to ring in the new year, but here it is and we are looking forward to what God has in store for us to come!  We did start the year with the high hopes of reading through the Bible in chronological order this year along with our 2 oldest.  Here is the plan we are following (BibleReadingPlan)  I've only ever read straight through so this plan will be interesting I think!  The kids are also using this chart to visualize how much of the Bible they have read as they progress (BibleChart)  They will mark off each chapter as they read it and will hopefully be a great tool to keep them motivated.
   We are 112 days into our school year so far and the kids are enjoying their lessons.  Science has really been exciting this year.  We went through the human body and are learning about weather right now.  Next we will be learning about Earth and the Universe.  It's been really interesting!
We are also going through New Tribe Missions 'Creation to Christ' which they love.  Each lesson starts off with a skit and they get such a kick out of it.
We are working through Sally Michael's books and are currently going through God's Battle.
For Math this year we are trying A+Tutorsoft and it is working out well.  Math always seems to be a struggle anyway but this seems to be working well for us this year for all 3 kids.
English and Reading are through Rod and Staff.  I really like their reading program from Gr 2-5.
Our oldest is reading through Noble Girlhood with Mommy.  This has been a wonderful study for the 2 of us that has extended over a year now.  We are taking our time through it and discussing it in great detail.
We have finished up Govnt/Civics and Geography.  We continue to learn and review Phonics with each grade level either through Explode the Code or Apples 2 (depending on age).
I never have to worry about Independent Reading time.  These kids LOVE to read and devour books.  We have really been slacking with our foreign language since we moved.  We are going through Rosetta Stones Spanish but need to get back into it again!
   Other than school, I've been trying my hand at different things.  I made my own natural face cream and it is wonderful!  I infused rose petals, lavender, calendula flowers and rosemary in some coconut oil for 3 days.  Then added some jojoba oil, grapefruit seed extract, a little beeswax and some aloe vera, then added some sacred frankincense oil to it.  I really like so far.  I've also made some immune boosting tinctures and elderberry syrup (which is a constant around here).  We've also had homemade bread everyday for the past 2 months!  I love that I can put the ingredients in before bed and set the timer to have warm bread by breakfast.  I made several batches of shortbread cookies which turned out way tooooo good!  I attempted fudge but it didn't turn out creamy enough.  Still tastes good but didn't get the best results.
  We continue to walk daily and I have almost reached my weight goal.  I have been feeling so good and clothes shopping is a joy now :)  I can't remember the last time I purchased a size small skirt but have recently added 5 new size smalls to my closet.  That is great motivation to keep it up!!!  I have 5 more lbs to lose to reach the goal I set for myself but would ultimately love to reach a final weight of 10 more lost lbs.
  That's about it around here!  We are all healthy, happy and blessed!

Oldest and youngest (*more pics added)

soon to be 12!!

Christmas present

Hubby was excited about the gift he got me.  He put alot of thought into it and boy was I thrilled!!!  I now have a muslin backdrop with frame, the lighting, and tripod for my portrait photography.  Can you see the smile on my face!!!  We are still playing around with the lighting to get it just right but here are a few shots from today with some of my beautiful subjects.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends!
What a year it has been for our family, full of joy and tears but always full of God's abundant blessings.  We have welcomed a new daughter into our family, said goodbye to a loving father and grandmother, moved to a beautiful new location, and became self-employed.  We thank God for His many provisions and are so thankful for His constant, unfailing love for us.  We are especially thankful during this holiday season for the love of our Heavenly Father, sending His Son to earth to provide a way of salvation for those who receive the free gift of faith.  What a gracious God we have!  Thank you Jesus for being our sacrifice.         

Christmas

So we don't decorate much for Christmas.  I am quite satisfied with plugging in a 3ft, pre-lit tree and putting a few bows on it!  We did make a small purchase for Daddy though....the UK bear is quite a nice touch don't you think!  It put a smile on his face :)
I also decided to try my hand at shortbread cookies!  Oooohhhh my....they are so good!  I found some mini cookie cutters and made them just like our neighbor used to make them when I was a kid.  Oh the memories.

Birthday girl

Our girl turned 5 a few days ago.  What a big girl she is becoming!  She wants so desperately to start school with the big kids.  I'm going to try to begin her on some phonics lessons on a regular basis now.  She loves to be in the kitchen with me when I'm cooking.  She tries to keep up with the big kids as much as possible in all they do.  She loves to draw and does people pretty good.
She wanted a ladybug theme for her cake and I found a cute idea on how to make the ladybugs.  All the older kids bought her a gift with their own money and she was just thrilled.  Thank you to those who sent cards, gifts, called, and sang to her.  It made her day very special.  

We love you precious girl.  Your big brown eyes and pinchable cheeks light up our family!

Thanksgiving

We went down south for Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with family.  We took some 4 generation photos (missing great Grandma this year) and went to visit Grandpa's grave (missing him!!)  We were able to catch up with church family again, and visit with aunts/uncles.  We picked up a few deals on clothes to boot which was an added bonus.  Here are a few pics from the trip.

Grandpa's grave site with Nana and all their grandkids

4 generation photo

cousin picture

My little lady

My young lady

She is growing up!!

Trip

We had a quick 2 day trip to Canada to see family.  Baby girl had not yet met her Great Grandpa, so we were able to have a very nice visit with him and get some 4 generation pictures.  The kids always enjoy playing with their cousins and seeing Grandparents/Aunts and Uncle.  Here are just a couple pics from the trip.

Great Grandpa, 91 yrs

Grandma and Grandpa