The Kiddos

Well, I think it's been awhile since I posted anything, let alone some pics of the kiddos! So, here goes...enjoy! They just melt my heart! :)

Spurgeon Suite, New Albany, Indiana

My husband posted a great post today on The Spurgeon Suite in New Albany, Indiana. http://www.smgrath.wordpress.com/ That is where I am writing from! God blessed us with my parents watching the kids so we could get away. We are here two nights then headed up to Indianapolis for a couple nights. We have never been away this long alone! While we love our children, we are having a great time! I have an awesome husband!!! :) (no, that's not me, with flowing hair, in the hot tub!)

In honor of being in the Spurgeon Suite, I wanted to post this quote I read this morning, that tugged at my heart, both convicting and encouraging me at once:

"Another beauty which God puts on the meek is contentment. They that are of a quiet and gentle spirit through the grace of God are satisfied with their lot. They thank God for little. They are of the mind of the godly woman who ate the crust of bread and drank a little water and said, 'What? All this and Jesus Christ, too?' There is a great charm about contentment, while envy and greed are ugly things in the eyes of those who have anything like spiritual perception. So meekness, through bringing contentment, beautifies us." Spurgeon, 1895

God is still speaking to me of contentment (remember all those posts awhile back?) I am SO slow to learn, but His grace on me is great! :)

Bryan and Jamie

I photographed a wedding last summer for our dear friends from Cedarmore, Tim and Meagan, and last weekend, I had the privilege of taking pictures for Meagan's mom's wedding! There is just something I love about a small, simple wedding...and Bryan and Jamie are at the stage in life to realize what their wedding day is truly all about. It was supposed to be outdoors in a prayer garden, but God had other plans, and rain poured down on us! So, we went inside...and we made do! :) Bryan and Jamie, I am so happy for you to have found love in each other! May God bless you and draw you nearer to Him. You are a joy to know and to work for! :) Thanks for winging it with me and just having fun!

Travis and Kristy

Congratulations to Travis and Kristy on their beautiful wedding day! Thank you, again, for choosing me as your photographer! We had alot of fun! I am thrilled with your pictures and can't wait for you to see them! May God's blessings about upon your marriage! :)

A Homeschool Family

Okay, I think I posted this one awhile back, but it's worth repeating! I LOVE what Tim Hawkins (a homeschool dad, by the way)has done in this video with the misconceptions of homeschoolers! Cracks me up! :)

For The Wives Out There...LOL!

Bedtime Prayer

Virtuous Daughters

Photography by Jenneil

My friend, Christina, signed my daughters up for a newsletter called "Virtuous Daughters." We just got the notification in the mail, and we are EXCITED to get our first newsletter!

This is the description of the newsletter: "Many girls feel alone in their Christian walk. Living in the world-but different from it-can be difficult. We hope to offer you some practical encouragement as you follow God. Virtous Daughters is written by like-minded young ladies who seek to encourage and edify one another in their walk with Christ."

This is a monthly publication, written by many participants (mothers and daughters). "Monthly topics include: Bible Reading, prayer, journaling, cooking, housework, Scripture memory, trusting the Lord, contentment, family relationships, wise friendships, standing alone..gratitude, babysitting, and many more!"

For one year's subscriptions, the cost is $6.96! The publishers cover the cost of the magazine...you just pay for postage for the year! What a great deal! Like I said, we haven't gotten our first publication yet, but I wanted to pass this offer along to all you out there. I will keep you updated as we receive this newsletter.

There is no email or website. You can send $6.96(make checks payable to Virtuous Daughters) to :

Virtuous Daughters
18842 Walding Road
Montgomery, Texas 77356

Article by Todd Wilson

This was an article from a recent email newsletter from The Old Schoolhouse. I always look forward to the articles by Todd Wilson, aka "The Family Man." The articles are always very REAL. He knows what the day to day life of a homeschooler looks like. Anyhow, this article really has nothing to do with homeschooling, but it has to do with taking care of yourself. I thought it was good...nothing we don't know, but good, with a touch of humor, that I always enjoy about him.




"Let me begin by saying, I feel fat. Some have called me stocky . . . but I like to refer to myself as a big tub of guts (BToG). In my pre-BToG youth, I used to look at overweight people and think, all they need to do is quit eating and lose some weight. Now, I know just how hard, sometimes overwhelming, and unobtainable that seems . . . but we owe it to those we live with to get healthier.
That's really why maintaining a healthy weight is important--so we can be around for our families for a long time. About 15 years ago, I was in a terrible car wreck. Both my feet, ankles, knees and legs were crushed and my face smashed flat. Since that time, my feet and legs always hurt, but I'm sure my feet and legs would feel a lot better if they didn't have to haul around a BToG. I really want to be able to walk and be active with my children and wife for a lot more years, but I fear that if I don't get some extra weight off, that might not happen.
Now, I know that some of you reading this eat healthy, exercise, and are thin and trim. Let me just say to you . . . I hate you.
But for the rest of us BToGs, I'm telling you we need to get to work . . . forgetting all the weight-loss failures of the past, broken, healthy-eating promises we've made, and forge ahead.
I'm not going to tell you HOW to accomplish what you'd like to accomplish, except that you should talk it over with your spouse, get an accountability partner, set a REALISTIC goal, and try, try again. "
BtoGs, lets do it. Be Real,

Todd

Dads Changing Diapers

(found on http://www.familymanweb.com/article/video-dads-changing-diapers)

Some More Art!

Okay, can you tell that the baby is asleep and Shane and the kids are at our bible study group? I'm posting several posts! Wowzers! And, no, I'm not being a slacker by not going to our Community Group...the baby has had..well...runny stool the past few days. Poor guy. Seems to be well otherwise, but from the messes we have had to clean up here...well, we'd rather leave them in the house! :) (the messes, that is!) So, here I am with absolutely NOTHING else to do but blog...or do laundry...and so I blog! :)

Here is another of our art projects done earlier this year. This one from a really cool book called, "The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions" by John E. and Danita Thomas. What a fun book this is! Of course, I had planned to do every one of these by...the end of the month I bought it in. But, life happens with us homeschoolers, and so we have done a few in the last schoolyear! :) I'm just making it last..you know, being good with our money! No need to have fun all at once!

ANYWAYS, this project is called "3-D Popcorn Paint." Basically, you color popcorn with food coloring and water, shake it up in a ziploc bag and "paint" your picture...and...well, the results speak for themselves! :) Perhaps next we'll do "Dryer Lint Clay!" Hey-who said you can't keep having fun with the economy the way it is? There's always dryer lint!

We finally lost a tooth!

Well, another catch-up-from-not-blogging-for-so-long-post here! Liz lost her first tooth! You go girl! :) I wish I coud be that cute without my front tooth! :)

The baby....

Here's an update on the baby.....

These pictures were taken in September...not much new news since then! :)

My Great Homeschool Artists!

One of the books I bought for art this year was "Discovering Great Artists" by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga. We used it more at the beginning of the year, honestly, but really enjoyed it. It's one we will keep using for the next few years or so. :) We studied Matisse one week and did a "Story Color Collage" with tissue paper, white thinned glue and poster board. The idea was for them to make a collage using bright colors and strange shapes. This was hard for my oldest daughter, who is a "realist"...i.e...people should have legs and arms and hair and eyes! :) But, in the end, I was so proud of what they came up with. My little girl always makes me laugh with her artistic renditions! :)

The great artists at work!

The beginning of a masterpiece!

Lizzie's final product....a man running from a flowing volcano! (yes, completely out of her own imagination!) The shape to the left is the ocean with a fish in it. :)

I loved what Myra came up with, after a little struggle with the concept of modern art! Two scenes in one.... A man on the beach with a bird in the air on the left and the woods with a dog and a tree on the right. Voila!

Crocheting

Well, several months before Christmas, I got an email from a lady in our homeschool group who wanted someone to teach her daughters to crochet. My mom taught me how when I was a little girl, so I volunteered. We met several times, and she became a dear friend through that crocheting adventure of ours! Through all that, my daughters decided they wanted to learn to crochet..I thought that, at 6 and 9, they might be too young, but they caught on quite nicely! First to learn was my 6 year old, when her 9 year old sister was visiting grandma. She quickly caught onto the chain stitch, but struggled getting past there. But, the trooper that she is decided that she would just keep doing what she knew! So, she sat one day and crocheted and crocheted until her yarn ran out! That chain must have been well over 6 feet long! It was so cute, I had to take pictures!

Catching up-Mom's Cancer

Well, as an update, we found out this month that mom's cancer is back. It's only been a year and 4 months since her last dose of chemo. We were hoping to have a good 7-9 years before it would rear its ugly head again. Her doctor told her that he has never had lymphoma return so soon after having the Chop-R (?) chemo, which she had last time. (which is the strongest dose of chemo I guess there is for that type of cancer) Please keep her and dad in your prayers. She is doing well and trusting God in His sovereignty. We are blessed that the lymphoma did not return in the same spot or it would have meant stem cell replacement, and just reading up on that made me cry. This time it is in her neck, and so they are able to do a chemo called Retuxin (?), where she will have treatments once every six months for the next two years, and they are telling her there will be no side effects..like hair loss or fatigue. We hope and pray...

Christmas-Last Pictures-Random

My baby sister, Kayla, didn't have any money this year to get us gifts, so she wrote us out word scrambles of things she wished she could give us each if she had all the money in the world, and then read us a poem that said, basically, that she loved us and isn't it the thought that counts, anyways? :) It was so creative, and made us cry!

This picture, below, was so cute. I looked over and saw Nehi playing with a castle that someone gave my girls for Christmas. Thank you to the kind family that was. We don't know you, but God does. :)

This picture is just "Lizzie" to me! Cracks me up, my little tomboy!

Lizzie made these bags this year! How cute are they?

Shane-so excited over his stocking stuffer. He doesn't get out much, folks! :) ha,ha,ha!

Christmas Pictures 3-Gag gifts

Another part of our Christmas Traditions is gag gifts! This is always my favorite part! We always have a lot of laughs!

Christmas Pictures 2-Homemade Gifts

One thing our family is good for is homemade gifts. This was a big year for homemade stuff! :) Here's a few pics...

Grandpa made the girls both boxes with their initial on it!

Mom made my sisters both a swedish weave blanket...well, she got them started anyways. They ended up being more work than she thought...but, wow, aren't they amazing? :)

Mom also made my girls each a scarf!

Grandpa made Nehi a gun that shoots rubber bands! By the end of the day, he had the clothespins that hold the rubber bands dismantled! But, it's still a cool gun!

And, mom made these amazing stuffed animals for the kids! They are the cutes things...too bad the dog got to two of them before the month was over...:(

Hey everyone! Christmas Pictures! :) ha!

Hey everyone out there in blogger world! Wow. Once again, time has slipped by me too quickly! Thought it was time I caught up. So, I'm starting with Christmas pictures! :) hee,hee...

We had my sisters and my parents out to our little house for a few days and we had a great time, as always. I'll let the pictures talk for themselves! I'll be posting several posts tonight and then I'm going to do my best to post something at least every week ! :) We'll see how I do! I just haven't had time, but I realized my husband is off every Thursday, so maybe that will be my day to post. Anyhow, hope everyone out there is well! :)

Pelosi: Fewer babies = stronger economy

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=398956

God, have mercy on our nation!

Lifestyle Portraits-Marsha and Renee'

Marsha's and Renee's pictures are now posted on my photo blog. I had the privilege of doing two shots in one location a few weeks ago for a dear friend and a friend of hers. We had lots of fun, and got lots of wonderful pictures that I hope they will treasure! :) Love you guys. Thanks for a great day! It also gave me a chance to break in my NEW CAMERA! :) Yea new camera! :)