Wednesday, August 30, 2017

School year favorites 2017

This is a beginning of the school year tradition that I have done for many years with my kids. I used a different app this year called "Over".  I haven't used it much, but it was pretty nice when I figured it out! This is kinda late for me this year, but I have a hard time remembering to ask my son these questions when he is home and not busy! He attends 2 band classes at the high school in the morning and later in the afternoon, is home from 9:15-2, when he does his homeschool, and then he has marching band after school almost every day! He is a busy guy!

I didn't make one for my oldest daughter, since she is in our local university now! (?!!)

I love seeing their answers to the questions from year to year, HERE is last year's post if you're interested...
 Our 9th grader...
 Our 3rd grader...
Our 6th grader...


Sure am glad that I can be home with these kids to homeschool them!

This is our home academy verse:

Ephesians 6:17
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Deuteronomy 11:18-20
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates...

This is a promise that I hope for my children...
Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

My siblings visit!

My dad has been sick this summer, partly as a result of a neck surgery that he had in the end of May. He was sick with the flu, and then pneumonia. He had a blood clot behind his knee and some in his lungs. He was sleeping more and using his oxygen more. One of the perks of living in the same town as my parents is that when my siblings come to visit them, I get to see them too! He is finally starting to feel better now!

My oldest brother and his family made a vacation out of their trip from Texas. It was great to see him and his wife and two youngest kids. My sister also came from our same state, and my other older brother came from Arizona. It was nice to have 4 of us all together! My younger brother had already planned a trip the following week, and we missed him! I did get to see him when he came later. We had lots of fun hanging out, talking a lot, playing a few games, going on walks and seeing the kids together too. We went to a nature center here in town, I hadn't been there since they moved a few months ago. We also went to a new water feature in town, went out for ice cream a few times and ate very well!
 My daughter loved being with her almost 4-year-old cousin!
 I even double french-braided each one of their hair so they could match!
 My nephew liked the touching tank at the nature where the shrimp cleaned his hands!

 Love my older brother's shirt!
 We also took an afternoon and went to a fun park in our town that had a new water feature! The kids loved it, and we all got really wet! The water felt good in our town's heat!
 Uncle Tim cuddling a cold Anna!
 My niece and I... love her!
 My daughter read her cousin a story!
 The four youngest girl cousins had a tea party!
 Cousins playing cards together...
 Me and my three siblings who were here together!
My younger brother and his wife visited too!


I love being together with my family, having them here was one of the highlights of my summer! 


1 Chronicles 16:43
Then all the people left, each for their own home, and David returned home to bless his family.

Psalm 122:8
For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”

Acts 10:2
He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Steven Curtis Chapman concert!

One of (or if not my very) favorite Christian singer/ songwriter/ artists came to a local festival and my hubby and I went to see him, Steven Curtis Chapman! He has written many of my favorite songs, and one of his songs my hubby sang in our wedding!



I was very excited to see him in concert. I had seen him once about 15 years ago at Focus on the Family's 25th year anniversary celebration. This time he played by himself for almost and hour and a half! He was jet-lagged as he had come from China just 48 hours before. He had sung at a friends' funeral the day before, and so he was a little emotional and exhausted. I know I would be!
We stood the whole concert up in the front to be close to him. He sang several of my favorite songs, including "Dive" which he opened with, "The Great Adventure", "For the Sake of the Call", "Cinderella", "Love take me Over", "More than Conquerors" from his newer CD, and "I will be Here" which Joshua sang at our wedding. He talked some about his family, his history (when he sang a few older songs), and their choice to adopt. He talked about the ways that God has changed his life, and how moments can be meaningful. We all had a little "moment" in the concert when he played Cinderella and we danced and sang along. It was really neat!

I really enjoyed his concert and getting to know him a little more. I also read his recently published book, Between Heaven and the Real World, in the weeks following the concert. I had read some of the stories before in his book, "Speechless" which I read years ago, and in his wife Mary Beth's book Choosing the See. I loved that a little boy from Peducah, Kentucky dreamed big, but never big enough to play in concert at Carnegie Hall! He is most humble, and gives glory to God for his success, another thing I appreciated about him. He was just wonderful!
This is some of the verses that he sang about...

Romans 8: 1-4
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:31-39
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Friday, August 4, 2017

Family Fourth of July 2017

We had another wonderful Independence Day holiday with Joshua's family this year. We love getting together and being squished into Joshua's sister's house for a few days! I love seeing the kids playing with their cousins, along with all of the other familiar 4th of July traditions.
 The first night we were together, we went to the drive-in and saw "Despicable Me 3." It was pretty silly! The kids liked being in the back of the two vans together, and the little girls were in their jammies so they could jump into their beds when it was finished!
 We watched the parade in our favorite small mountain town. loved the big wheeled bike...
 Our friend and their 3 legged dog walked in the parade this year instead of their usual family band float...
Our family waiting for the parade to begin...
 During the water fights, I saw these two guys with bald eagle hats, I thought they were funny!
 The four big kids were waiting for the water fights to start...
 In the evening, after dinner we snapped some family photos on the porch...
 Love those faces!
 Then while waiting for the fireworks, the kids played baseball, and we played the game, "Bean Boozled," where everyone got a jellybean that may have been either yummy or yucky. It was pretty fun to watch, I did not play. I didn't need to be sick! The fireworks were fabulous!

We were sad to go home the next day. We always love our family time, it goes by too quickly! It's hard to believe that this was a month ago, the summer is flying by!



Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Ephesians 3:12
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
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