Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Blast From The Past - Nathan in Headphones


Blast From the Past Blog Button - mom

You will find the rules for participating, and a cute photo of me, by clicking this link

Blast From The Past

This week in honor of the upcoming 15th birthday of my son I have pictures of Nathan.
This is Nathan January 1995. He was 6 mos. old.

Court was fixing some electronics equipment and Nathan was watching his every move. He wanted to be just like Daddy. You can see the joy on his face.




The Music Moves Me!
Hey... How did they get that music in these things on my head???




Nathan still likes music and likes to sing bass now with his family.
At the time of the above picture his voice had not changed and he was singing tenor with me.
He is standing second from the right next to me.

This picture was taken Feb. 16, 2007.
We were singing as a family at our support group Talent Night.
Just a note: Nathan is now taller than me!!

I want to add a picture of Nathan today. He is sitting next to me, on his dad's laptop, wearing headphones. We both wear headphones so what we are doing does not annoy the other person. Unfortunately, my camera batteries, which are rechargeable, are dead. So check back later for that picture of Nathan, once my batteries recharge.

I will try and get a picture of the two of us standing next to each other on his birthday so you can see how tall he is getting.


Post a picture from your past... yesterday... days gone by... whatever.
Make sure you take my Blast From The Past button to put in your post. Tell your readers to click on the button to come to my blog or leave them a link at the bottom so they can read my post and participate if they want to.

Don't forget to come sign Mr. Linky... Mr. Linky is back, he should be working below!!
Yeah Mr. Linky!!!

Have a great day
Debbie

New: Here is the photo of what Nathan looks like in headphones today, as promised!






Monday, June 29, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook - June 29,2009


FOR TODAY... Monday, June 29, 2009

Outside my window... white fluffy clouds and lots of sun! YEAH

I am thinking... about all the work I have to do and the little amount of time before we start school again.

I am thankful for... the fact that I have my mom still alive and that I got to spend time with her this past weekend. There are more signs of her aging every day and things have had to be watched over by my sister more and more now that she is 86. She will be driving only until spring of 2010 and I pray for her safety as she continues to drive locally.

From the learning rooms... still finishing up things from last year and planning next year. Some of the curriculum for next year is on order and I can't wait to get it.

From the kitchen... we had a picnic with our growth group yesterday (Rachel made potato salad) and we have my sons 15th birthday to celebrate this coming weekend, so we have many things to get ready for that.

I am wearing... tan pants, blue short sleeved top, crocs.

I am creating... History Unit Study with Mystery of History III as a base.

I am going... no where special this week, only to the library today and Thursday.

I am reading... The White Company by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle.

I am hoping... my curriculum comes in soon, waiting is the hardest part.

I am hearing... Little House on the Prairie Season 3 Disc 1 - The Collection (on DVD) on my computer.

Around the house... nothing much, normal chores and cleaning.

One of my favorite things... time with my Mom each day is precious.

A few plans for the rest of the week: blogging, planning our History for next year - making my own Unit Study Plans, working on Portfolios, and waiting for my curriculum to come in.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


One of my birthday gifts. My daughters made this frame for me.




Our Hostess, Peggy, is taking off for the summer but I am going to keep doing my Daybook.
It is one of the highlights of my week. Visit out Hostess at The Simple Woman's Daybook. During the Summer Grandmother Wren is doing a Mr. Linky at her site, so after you check out the Hostees's site you can go to Grandmother Wren to link up your posts and read others.

Debbie

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Disclosure Statement

This policy is valid from June 23, 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact  Debbie @ dlphsmom at inbox dot com.

This blog does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, event tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Debbie

TOS Crew Review - 2009 Schoolhouse Planner


This is my first official review of the year for the TOS Review Crew.


When I found out we were reviewing The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner I was apprehensive. Oh boy, I thought, this review is going to be a hard one for me. I do not buy ready made planners. I make my own planner pages in word processing and spreadsheet programs. How am I going to review this? But when I got the planner and opened it I was pleasantly surprised! Free Smileys

This planner has all the normal pages that a planner should have like calendar and curriculum pages but with 375 pages it is the ULTIMATE Planner!

One of the great features I love is that it is a pdf that you can type in! You can type your information into the planner and then print it out. That makes it easy to keep track of all your homeschool stuff and keep things nice and neat instead of handwritten. Another great feature is that you can save multiple copies of the planner, so you could enter information in a planner for each child and/or one for yourself, and save them all separately. The planner makes it so easy! The blue parts that are highlighted in the picture below are the areas you can type in. If you click on the picture below you will see the details of a screenshot I took while typing in my planner. As you see it tells you that you can save data typed into the planner.


There are a number of forms I have already printed and a number of forms I plan to use over the next year. One of the most interesting to me was the Community Service Record. Community service is an important part of our children's lives and we like to serve the community as a family. Unfortunately, I have not done a great job of keeping track of this. This form will make it so easy to keep good records for this and will make a great addition to our portfolios, especially for my son who is in high school. The "type it in" feature again makes it easy to use. You can type in the information each time the child does community service and save the information and then when you have a whole page you can print it out and put it in the portfolio! Click on the picture below to see a larger view if you want to see the details they include.


The planner has a "looooong" list of items included in it. I put a link down near the bottom of my post and you can see the complete table of contents, so I will not copy that here. You can also see more details at the other links below. With those links and my review hopefully you will have a great idea of the quality of this planner.

Some of my other favorite forms in the planner are the Audio/Visual log, the Crafts Completed This Year page (for me to use and my daughters may want to use this one too), Continuing Education page (for me to use), and I already printed a couple of the gardening pages for my daughter. I will probably also use the calendar pages to keep track of the review that I have to do for the TOS Review Crew.

One of the other neat features of the planner is that it has a different homeschool topic for each month. There is an article by a prominent homeschooler, most with added charts or posters, and all with a resource list of extra things on the same topic all sold by the TOS Store, who always has free shipping by the way. The two I found the most interesting were the one on lapbooking and the one on homeschooling around the world. To go with the homeschooling around the world article, there are ABC's of Landforms pages that look especially good. I will be using them next year in school. There was one page with the information filled in and then pages for the kids to write on.

The picture below shows the calendar pages for July along with the article and charts for The Thirteen Colonies. Another feature is two recipes for each month of the year, some of them look quite yummy and we will be trying them out. In the picture below you can see the July Recipes.


The Planner has something for everyone. Preschool Activities and planner sheets, Elementary, High School, and lots of things for Mom. There is even stuff for Dad. There is a Car Maintenance Schedule and an Inventory of Major Appliances and Electronics.

Out of five stars I give this





You get all these features for only $39 dollars and since it is an e-book download you can have your planner seconds after you buy it and be typing and printing before you know it! So I give it my good value icon:






So, do you want to have a more organized homeschool next year? Then I highly recommend you buy The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner! Free Smileys

Here is the link for the Table of Contents (you should be able to view it online or download it).

For more details, and more pictures of the items in the planner, and to buy your copy go to the following link: The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner.

You can also see more details about the planner and see what my other crew members think about the Planner before you buy it by going to the TOS Homeschool Crew's Official Blog.

I hope you enjoyed this review and I hope you check out the Planner!

Leave me a comment if you want and if you have any questions, just ask.

Debbie

Blast From The Past - Daddy Time


Blast From the Past Blog Button - mom

You will find the rules for participating, and a cute photo of me, by clicking this link

Blast From The Past

I am a little late posting this but at least I did not forget altogether.

In honor of Father's Day this past weekend I have pictures of my dear husband and my lovely kids.


Family Love

February 1995
left to right around the circle:
Rachel, Nathan, Court, Jessica





March 1998
left to right:
Jessica holding Christopher, Court, and Rachel holding Nathan

The words on the wall are the list of things love is from I Corinthians 13:4-8
we put them up for Valentines Day




March 1998
same pose with Christopher without his pacifier in his mouth

So I hope you enjoyed that look back and I hope you will participate.
I used to use Mr. Linky for you all to link up you posts but he is having troubles with his site and I don't have a paid account, yet, though I want one.

So for now instead of Mr. Linky just leave a comment with your name and post's link.

If you do not want to do a post of your own you are still welcome to comment.

So come on and join the fun!
Don't you have embarrassing photos of yourself when you were young,
or embarrassing photos of the kids,
or cute ones!

Come on and share!

Have a blessed week!
Debbie

Friday, June 19, 2009

A Special Day Today!

Hi! This is Rachel, Debbie's oldest daughter here. This is a special post to wish my mom a Happy Birthday today! =:D
Mom, I love you so much! We all appreciate your hard work and efforts (even though we don't always show it). =:D I hope that this day will be special to you and you will have a joyous day today! =:) We all love you! (I also wrote a little post on Jessica's and My blog if you want to read it!)

Please join me in wishing her a Happy Birthday! =:D

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Blast From the Past - Debbie 1971


Blast From the Past Blog Button - mom

You will find the rules for participating, and a cute photo of me, by clicking this link

Blast From The Past

and don't forget to come back here!!!
I suggest opening the above link in a new tab to make it easier.


This weeks blast is brought to you by...
Purple Knit Giraffe Fabric, Inc.

LOL

Free Smileys

Hah

I came up with that one myself!
could you tell??
LOL

and now for the picture



Oh, you must click on the picture and see it bigger.
It is too good to miss the details!

Make sure you noticed my stylish glasses
and don't you love those bright purple tights!!!

What could have made me wear this outfit...
it was the 70's
nuf' said

but also my Aunt Ruby worked for a Stretch and Sew Fabric store
that only sold 100% polyester material...

and...

I loved, and still do love,
purple

though now I would not wear that much purple!!!
or giraffes on my dress!
or that short of a dress for that matter!
or 100% polyester!

LOL

So I hope you enjoyed that look back and I hope you will participate.
I used to use Mr. Linky for you all to link up you posts but he is having troubles with his site and I don't have a paid account, yet, though I want one.

So for now instead of Mr. Linky just leave a comment with your name and post's link.

If you do not want to do a post of your own you are still welcome to comment on my lovely purple outfit and glasses!

But come on and join the fun!
Don't you have embarrassing photos of yourself when you were young,
or embarrassing photos of the kids,
or cute ones!

Come on and share!

Have a blessed week!
Debbie

Monday, June 15, 2009

Christopher's Art Work and a link to Jessica's

Photobucket

Over the weekend Christopher drew this nice penguin by following the steps in one of our Draw*Write*Now books. Christopher is 12 1/2 yrs old and I have a picture of him below his drawing. He did a really good job. He does not draw often but his sister was painting the other day and that inspired him to draw, I guess.



So, that is my Magic Marker Monday post. I will not be doing these every week, but since he drew something I thought, why not participate this week.

Oh if you want to see my daughter's beautiful artwork... she is 20 yrs old ... go to her blog, to this post... I highly recommend it. She is a great artist! Young Homemakers - A Little Art

And if you want to join Magic Marker Monday click the button at the top or go here: Magic Marker Monday

Plan some art for you kids this week so you can participate in Magic Marker Monday next week,
Debbie

The Simple Woman's Daybook - June 15, 2009


FOR TODAY... Monday, June 15, 2009

Outside my window... cloudy, gray, looks like it could rain any minute

I am thinking... of the long list of things on my to do list and this week only two days to work on them... Wed-Fri my hubby is taking off work and we are having a mini vacation. Not really going anywhere... we don't have the money for a "real" vacation... we will be celebrating my birthday, which is Friday, and Nathan's Birthday, which is in July; by going to Shady Maple for dinner. We are planning one walk at Winterthur in the Gardens and we have not yet taken our tour of the house so we want to do that this coming week. Other than that I am not sure what we will do.

I am thankful for... My Pastor... again... What a powerful sermon he preached yesterday on John Chapter 8, thank you Lord for such a Godly wonderful man to have as my Pastor, who preaches the word with love and power.

From the learning rooms... unfortunately, yes, we have school work from last year still to do. We are done our 180 days but the boys still have some things to catch up on... and we have to still glue/tape some lapbooks together.

From the kitchen... my lovely daughters have taken over my cooking duties since I have soooo much to do. Thanks girls!!! you don't know how much of a load that takes off my mind... not just my time but frees my mind to think of the other things I need to do.

I am wearing... p.j.s and a summer bathrobe and bare feet... it is only 6:30 am... I will get dressed in a little while.

I am creating... lists and calendars and paperwork to be ready for the TOS Crew Review... I want to be prepared so I know when my reviews are due and have them done before that date.

I am going... to the library, to Winterthur and to Shady Maple this week. I am also going to Ladies Bible Study on Friday.

I am reading... The White Company by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle

I am hoping... to do a good first review for the TOS Crew... it is due by the end of June

I am hearing... the fan and cars and trucks outside and the sound of my typing... the kids are all still asleep.

Around the house... pots need to be washed from the weekend... I was busy and so they need to get done asap.

One of my favorite things... my hubby holding my hand at church while we pray and while we sing.

A few plans for the rest of the week: lapbook gluing, TOS Review Crew stuff, blogging, Ladies Bible Study, Birthday celebration, eat at Shady Maple

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Flowers at Winterthur in my favorite spot - the Quarry Garden

Our Hostess, Peggy, is taking off for the summer but I am going to keep doing my Daybook.
It is one of the highlights of my week. Visit out Hostess at The Simple Woman's Daybook. During the Summer Grandmother Wren is doing a Mr. Linky at her site, so after you check out the Hostees's site you can go to Grandmother Wren to link up your posts and read others.

Debbie

Friday, June 12, 2009

Win a Server for your Husband/Father for Father's Day

5MinutesforMom is having a giveaway for Father's Day

Please do not go and sign up because I want to win this for my hubby

Just Kidding!!! Free Smileys

Here is the link so you can sign up! There were approx. 375 entries when I signed up earlier today so good luck to all who enter!

Father’s Day Giveaway - HP MediaSmart Server LX195

Debbie

Wordle

I was just introduced to the cool website by a crew mate on the TOS Review Crew Forum. It is really cool.

Here is the Wordle she did for the TOS Crew Review



You can enter a bog url and it will create a Wordle based on the most used words on that blog. It is really cool. You can click the pictures to see them larger if you want. I plan on playing with this some more in the days to come and will waste a few hours on it I am sure. I want to do a Christian Wordle and a Blog Wordle with only words I put in not words they randomly choose. This one is cool anyway.


You can customize the colors and other things to get it the way you want it. It is so cool.

To put this on my site I took a screenshot which was a png and then I cropped out the window leaving only the wordle. The site where you can make your own is below.

One word of caution: This site is uncensored and if you go into the gallery you might see wordle creations that are offensive. You can use the site without entering the gallery, but the homepage has the most recently created wordles.

http://www.wordle.net/


and this is the direct link to my wordle

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/937670/Debbie%27s_Digest

Have Fun,
and don't waste too much time on there!! LOL

Let me know if you make one, I would love to come see yours!!!

Debbie

Freebie and some new sites

I just found this site and she has a freebie she is giving away.

Harmony Fine Arts: Free Summer 2009 Art and Music Appreciation Plans

It is a pdf of Art and Music plans you can use this summer. I just downloaded the freebie and it looks great.

A quote from her site. "The plans introduce the music of Felix Mendelssohn and the paintings of Claude Monet in this mini-unit. The plans also include every print I suggest and you can view them in the PDF, online, or you can print them out if you wish. I have created simple artist biography and composer biography notebook pages for you to print out as well."

The notebooking pages are well done and though I am not sure we will use them this summer I saved it and we may use it once school starts. Anyway it is a great little freebie and she has other things at her site that you may want to look into buying including a

New! Medieval and Renaissance Art and Music Appreciation - middle school level now available as an ebook

I have not purchased the e-b00k but her freebie looks good and if her other stuff is as good it might be worth the price.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know about the freebie and her site.

by the way I found the freebie through this site that I follow Handbook of Nature Study - something I would like to incorporate more into our school.

Enjoy,
Debbie

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Senior Version of Jesus Loves Me

I got this in an e-mail from my Mom
I did not know if any of you had seen it but I love it and wanted to post it here.

Enjoy

"Senior version of Jesus Loves Me"

Here is a new version just for us who have white hair or no hair at all. For us over middle age (or even those almost there) and all you others, check out this newest version of Jesus Loves Me.


JESUS LOVES ME

Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.
(CHORUS)
YES, JESUS LOVES ME.. YES, JESUS LOVES ME..
YES, JESUS LOVES ME, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.
(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song..
Telling me in words so clear,
"Have no fear, for I am near."
(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand His love.
(CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does He know?

Have I ever told Him so?

Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.
(CHORUS)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

My Week So Far - Busy Monday and Stressful Tuesday

Oops!!! Sorry!!!
I forgot to post my Blast From The Past yesterday.

I had a busy day on Monday. Someone on one of the groups I am on asked a question about teaching History chronologically. Then I e-mailed her and told her if she had more questions to just ask. Then she wanted to know how long it takes me to cover Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. So wanting to give her accurate times I looked for my History and Science Log pages. I could not find them anywhere. I had my son help me move and look in numerous boxes of stuff that I need to get to and take care of, some of which is stuff to put in Portfolios that I am behind in doing from the years we were building our house... now finish those portfolios is added to my ever lengthening list of things to get done before we start school again the end of July!!! Anyway, he came up to help me look in the boxes under my table in my bedroom and I turned around and said, "WAIT!! Stop! I see a pile of papers on top of my table maybe they are in there." So I looked and oh no there they were... all that time searching and they were not in a box but right on top of my table. Which is piled high with books by the way. So I decided after I e-mailed her that I would make a list of what topics for History we have done over all the years we have done school. I have one for Science but since we just do History chronologically, so we just do the next period in History one after another, unlike Science where it is not chronological, I had never made a list for History. So I went through the Portfolios -- not counting the two years I have not finished yet-- and so there is a gap in the records-- and worked it all down and put it in a word processing document.

Just in case anyone is interested, and so that I have it saved in another place, I am going to put the list here as well. I love teaching History and make my own History plans so if you have any questions about teaching History chronologically, just ask.

Here is the list:

History Subjects We Have Done - by the year
  • 1991-92 BJU Beginnings K [Teaching Rachel only]
  • 92-93 Heritage Studies 1: Christian Heritage (home, family, community), and Our American Heritage (continent, country, Christmas customs, America's Birth and growth, America Today)
  • 93-94 Creation to Joseph (in preparation for starting Greenleaf Press Famous Men of Egypt)
  • 94-95 Egypt (Did not start until Spring 95??? not sure why -Nathan was born summer 94 maybe that is why) [Jessica started K]
  • 95-96 Egypt
  • 96-97 Greece
  • 97-98 ??? Rome ??? (probably but this is one of the years of missing info)
  • 98-99 ??? Prairie Primer – World of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House on the Prairie ??? or More Rome??? Not sure
  • 99-00 Middle Ages [Nathan started K]
  • 00-01 Renaissance and Reformation to beginning of Pilgrims (World of Captain John Smith
  • 01-02 Pilgrims, Revolutionary War and Colonial
  • 02-03 Expansion, Pioneers, early 1800's – Civil War [Christopher started K]
  • 03-04 End of the Civil War, Reconstruction, Early 1900's, and WWI [Rachel Graduated spring '04]
  • 04-05 WWII to Modern Times
  • 05-06 Creation, OT History and Egypt (time to start History over, Yeah!!)
  • 06-07 more OT History starting with the Judges, more of Egypt, Greece and the beginnings of Rome [Jessica Graduated Spring '07]
  • 07-08 Rome through the beginnings of the Dark Ages
  • 08-09 Middle Ages
Future Year
09-10 Renaissance and Reformation

So that took up most of Monday and then I had to cook dinner Monday is my night to cook.

Then yesterday I had a lot of stress and conflict about a sign that the county put in our yard that is for our neighborhood. If you want to see details of when they put the sign in and pictures my daughter put it on her blog here. Well they came to dig up two dead tree trunks that were behind the sign and the took out the lilac bush that was next to the sign. The lilac bush did not belong to us, luckily we moved my rose bush we had planted out there by the original sign when they came to put in the new bigger one. They said they had orders and were just following orders. I don't blame them, I know they were just workers.

Well, I called DelDOT and they said the orders came from Senator McBride so I called his office and he called me back. He was very nice, I kept my temper and did not cry either, but he, in so many words, said that the property the sign is on does not belong to us. The county and state own so far in on each property and have a right of way to do anything they want with that part, of what we thought, was our property. They did a survey before they put the sign up to make sure it did not go on our property. One of the unfortunate points is that we were never informed about the sign and did not go to any neighborhood meetings so we were out of the loop.

Well, we are on the corner of our neighborhood which is only one street and two shorter streets at the end in a T shape. At the end of both sides of the top of the T the street dead ends. There are approx. 25 homes, each a duplex, so 50 homeowners or so (I have never counted that is just an estimate). The sign is huge for such a small, relatively poor, neighborhood and evidently the county owns a lot of our land since we have a lot of space that is next to the roads, since we are on the corner.

I was also upset because there have been numerous times I have been sorry to have asked for the property on the corner. That was my call. I wanted the corner because it had a little more yard but we have been sorry many times. We have more traffic noise from the street. We had a car run into our fence and leave without getting his information... it is yet to be fixed, we cannot afford it! It was years and years ago. We had a car catch on fire on the main road right next to our yard, and now the trouble with this dumb sign.

To make matters worse, my dh, who has been even more upset by this whole thing, came home, ranted and raged and called Senator McBride's office and left a message on his machine. He was angry and yelling and unreasonable. It got me started all over again. He hates living here and wants to move to the country somewhere but we cannot afford it. We are barely making it here and our Habitat house has such low mortgage and no interest on that lone! We could never afford it on what he makes. It will take a miracle from God for that to happen and we have not seen to many miracles around here lately. He also hates feeling like he has no control over things. He calmed down by later in the evening, and was sorry about loosing it on the phone, but I wish he had just waited to call until he was more calmed down. I told him if Senator McBride called back I was not answering it. I will leave it on the answering machine for him to deal with. He does not think Senator McBride will call him back, but he called me back yesterday. I missed his first message and called him back and he called me a second time. So, I am sure Court will get a call back.

Well, isn't that a cheery post. I am still recovering from yesterday. I will do the Blast next week. Sorry about that. I hope the rest of the week goes better than the first two days!

Hope your week has been better than mine too,
Trying to Rest in the Palm of Christ's Hands and His Sovereignty,
knowing "This World is Not My Home, I'm Just A Passin' Through"
Debbie

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook - June 8, 2009


FOR TODAY... Monday, June 8, 2009

Outside my window... cloudy, supposed to rain later, thank the Lord we had a wonderful sunny weekend though.

I am thinking... of the many things I need to get done this week and the many books I want to read.

I am thankful for... a hubbie who is feeling better, is sticking to his diet, is helping around the house and getting the kids more motivated, and is more playful, engaged and just "here" with his family, not just off in his own world of pain and feeling bad.

From the learning rooms... Lapbooks still to glue together, planning to spend time watching a movie with each boy and getting those done this week.

From the kitchen... hmm still no meal plans, except that one of my to-do's today is to work on that... with tonights dinner being the first thing planned. We had a crock pot meal yesterday and it was great to get up early at 5:45 and have the dinner in the crockpot and going by 6:30. Great to know when we got home a filling and delicious meal would be hot and cooked and waiting for us. Hubbie liked it and so did I. I plan to do a LOT more crock pot cooking for Sundays.

I am wearing... my p.j.'s and summer bathrobe, soon to be exchanged for slacks and a t-shirt.
I am creating... need to get to work on something for Father's Day... see my dd's suggestions at her blog

HH 12 - Father's Day Gifts and Ideas!



I am going... to the library tonight and Thursday night and as far as I know that is all this week until church on Sunday.

I am reading...The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the writer of Sherlock Holmes). I found this book suggested on the Simply Charlotte Mason site in the History Section of the SCM Curriculum Guide. Go to the History Section of that page and then to the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation section. Here is the link to that page. The book was under the listing for 10th-12th grades. I am enjoying it already and I am only on Chapter 4, it was gripping and worthy to be read right from the first chapter.

I am hoping... to get a lot done this week. Summer vacation is already going to fast and soooo much to accomplish. 4 weeks of summer vacation done already... only 6 or seven weeks left till we start school again.

I am hearing... computer clicking sounds from my son on his dad's laptop next to me and from me, and the ceiling fan goig on full... all else quiet as a church mouse.

Around the house... not much... we did a big chore day on Saturday!!

One of my favorite things... buying new books... I have my list all made up... dh and I discussed it in detail on Friday night and he okayed or nixed each book or set on my list and now we wait for some money... this week he had to pay for the timer he bought to fix our washer and the car insurance.

A few plans for the rest of the week: gluing lapbooks, working on logging the books into the program my hubbie found me on Linux, Reading, working on some Father's Day presents with the kids.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Two more books my dh bought us at a thrift store
don't know if we will get to this time period next year or not...
probably NOT
but the books will be there when we do get to the Revolutionary time period,
hopefully no later than 2010-2011

Visit the Hostess and do your own Daybook at
The Simple Woman's Daybook

Our Hostess, Peggy, is taking off for the summer but I am going to keep doing my Daybook.
It is one of the highlights of my week.

Debbie

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Lies Women Believe Chapter 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."

Gal. 5:1

We are one chapter 7 this week, our Bible study is tomorrow, but I have not done any updates on the other chapters. I meant to do a post for each chapter but I kept putting it off. This book is not an easy read. This book digs deep and cuts to the dividing of bone and marrow since is exposes the lies Satan tells, and unfortunately I believe, and pits them with the Truth of God's Word.

I did a post on chapter 2 but I want to go back the the beginning and do chapter 1( I'm skipping the introduction, it is just a overview of the other chapters). Then I will continue one with 3-7 and will try to get caught up before we do chapter 8 that is due to be read for our next Bible which is on the 19th.

So chapter 1...

Chapter 1 is about Lies and the consequences of believing those lies and how we need to counter them with the Truth of God's Word. Here is my favorite quote from this chapter.

"...the way we behave is invariably based on what we believe to be true--not what we say we believe, but what we actually believe. "As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbws 23:7 KJV, italics added)."

This is so true. We can see by our lives, our actions and choices, what we really believe. We may say one thing and act another way. We may put on a face at church or at a Bible study but we know deep in our hearts that that is not the real us. Usually, our family knows it too. Those who are closest to us know our faults and warts and failures and know if we are hypocrites that say one thing and do another.

I cannot go into to much detail because I do not want to get into trouble for quoting to much of the book but the part where she shows the progression from Sin to Bondage and the steps for going from Bondage to Freedom are also good.

The Progression from Deception to Bondage:
  • Listen To A Lie
  • Dwell On The Lie
  • Believe The Lie
  • Act On The Lie
Moving From Bondage To Freedom
  1. Identify the area(s) of bondage or sinful behavior
  2. Identify the lie(s) at the root of that bondage or behavior
  3. Replace the lie(s) with the Truth
This leads us into the various chapters on the Lies Women Believe. The lies are grouped together by the chapter titles. There is more than one lie in each chapter. Each chapter has between 3 and 6 lies. The lies are identified and the Truth is proclaimed!!!

Though, as I said, this is not an easy book to read it is necessary in my life. I, unfortunately have a lot of lies I have listened to and believed and acted on and I am not free from them just by reading this book. Not by a long shot. But it is a start and I do highly recommend it.


"... If you continue in My Word,
then are you my disciples indeed;
And ye shall Know The Truth,
and The Truth Shall make you Free."
John 8:31b-32 (KJV)

If you want to know the Truth and be able to discern the lies of the Devil you must continue in the Word of God, for that is the ultimate Truth and will help you and I on our journey.

I will try and get caught up with the chapters asap.
I hope you enjoy this chapter by chapter review of this book,
Chapter 2's review can be found HERE.

Debbie

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Extra!! Extra!! Read All About It!!

I am so excited to announce that I am going to be part of The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) Review Crew this coming year. Free Smileys

That means I will be getting curriculum and other things from companies that advertise in the TOS magazine (free, that we get to keep) and then we will use them in our school and then I will review them here on my blog. Just like I did with the four that I did in April, see my archives if you did not read them and want to.

I am soooo excited!! Free Smileys

I wanted to do the review crew last year, it's first year, but my husband thought it would be to much work. I am so glad he is allowing me to do it this year. Thanks Hubbie. Free Smileys

The reviews will begin in August or September, I guess, so watch for them,
Debbie

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Blast From The Past - Jessica Makes A Mess! 1990

You are going to LOVE this post


Blast From the Past Blog Button - mom


You will find the rules for participating as part of my first Blast by clicking this link

Blast From The Past

Do you like Pancakes?

Do you like Biscuits?

Jessica has always liked Pancakes or Biscuits and Gravy Better than Cereal

and here is the proof.

Even when she was one year old she prefered eating Pancake Mix to containers of Cereal.

What kid do you know who would pass up perfectly edible cereal for Pancake Mix.

Dry!!!

Uncooked!!

Right out of the Box!!!

Jessica Would!!!
As they say...
A picture is worth a thousand words!


So I will let this picture speak for itself




Jessica
Approximately 1 yr. of age
Summer 1990

Yes, She is eating Jiffy Baking Mix right out of the box!
She pulled the cereal out of the cabinet and set it on the floor next to her and ate the Dry Jiffy Baking Mix instead!

Oh, and you can click on the picture to see it even bigger and with more detail.

Do you have funny, embarrassing, cute, adorable pictures of your kids you are dying to share.

Or, maybe you have embarrassing photos of you from the 60's or 70's with weird hair styles or psychedelic clothing.


Then go and do your post and then come back here.

Mr. Linky is still not working, the owner of the site is having serious overload issues. I cannot afford a paid membership right now so...

you will have to just leave a comment so we can all visit each others Blast From The Past.

So leave a short comment with your Blog Post Link and Don't forget my Blog button (it's on my sidebar) put that at the top of your post and tell other to click the button and/or give your readers a link to my post, ask them to join us here if they want to.

just a little plug
make sure you check out my post on the

Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2009

and get your ticket TODAY,

the UHSE started yesterday but it is never to late to get a ticket
with your ticket you get:

at least 75 audio downloads
lots of freebies from the vendors
and MUCH more!
Details at the link above

and new this year

access to 6 kids classes your kids can listen to on mp3
and the goodies that come with those

some of the kids classes are:
Geology Dig into Rocks and Fossils with Felice Gerwitz
Civil War to Civil Rights with Angela Broyles
Make Your Writing Great with Cindy Rushton

when you buy a ticket from my links you support me.


So that is the Blast for this week.
Grab my Blast From The Past button
Do your post
Leave a comment with your name and post link

Join the Fun
Debbie

Monday, June 1, 2009

My Summer Reading List

My summer reading list must begin with most, if not all, of the books in the Middle Ages section of the post I did for Christopher's Summer Reading List - age 12 (click the link to see that list).

This list, like the one above, is for our Summer Reading Splash which is for readers of all ages... mostly the kids... but they are giving prizes to one mom who posts their summer reading list and then adds her post to the Mr. Linky at the site.

The reading program is for all kids and we would love to have you join us. It is free and they are having scavenger hunts and giveaways and it should be lots of fun so check it out here after you read my post. Oh and the link is also on my sidebar.


The list of Middle Ages books is a long enough list but I would like to add to that:

I am currently finishing Hidden Treasure of Glaston

I also started The Stones Cry Out by Sibella Giorello and I would like to finish that.

I want to start reading the Original Charlotte Mason Home Schooling Series. I will be starting with book 1, Home Education. I do not know if I will get that done but I have a goal to read them all, hopefully to be done with them by the end of next summer.

I also wanted to read The Complete Set of the Terrestria Chronicles. I am not sure if I will get that done either.

Also on my want to read list is the Crown and Covenant series (those I would borrow from the Library).

I also wanted to try out The 39 Clues series to see if it would be ok for my boys to read, so I have that on my list of things I want to read. Here is the "official" scholastic book site here is a link to book 1 The Maze of Bones on Amazon.com. From that Amazon link you can find the other books and the scholastic sites said the 4th book is going to be released tomorrow. That too I will be borrowing from the Library.

Sooo that is my incomplete list... I am sure I am leaving out some good books I want to read but if I get all that done and the other things on my looooong list of summer things I have to do it will be a wondrous miracle... there are only so many hours in a day and I have to keep blogging too.

So... what is on your reading list. Join us.

Debbie

Christopher's Summer Reading List - age 12

and mine by the way, (and Nathan's but he is putting his on his own blog so look for that on his blog if you want: Nathan's Blog).

I put these on for our Summer Reading Splash friends to read, and my other blog readers too. If you are interested in joining us at the Summer Reading Splash click the button below.


These are Middle Ages Historical Fiction that we did not get finished from this past year's school (with two additions of Henty's that belong to Christopher (he got them for Christmas from his grandmother and he hasn't read them yet so they are on his list to read) and another set that Nathan won last fall:

The Middle Ages Historical Fiction books:

Ink on His Fingers Louise A. Vernon

Beric The Briton G. A. Henty

Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades G. A. Henty

Big John's Secret Eleanore M. Jewett (Bethlehem Books: Living History Library)

The Lost Baron Allen French (Bethlehem Books: Adventure Library)

In Freedom's Cause G. A. Henty

Adam of the Road Elizabeth Janet Gray

Beggar’s Bible Louise A. Vernon

Morning Star of the Reformation Andy Thomson; edited by Mark Sidwell Thomson

The Lion of St. Mark G. A. Henty

A March On London: Being A Story Of Wat Tyler's Insurrection Paperback at Amazon Hardcover from Amazon G. A. Henty

Both Sides of the Border G. A. Henty

At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris G A Henty

The Fall of Constantinople by Bernardine Kielty (a Landmark Book)

Christopher's additions:

St. George for England G. A. Henty

Wulf the Saxon G. A. Henty

The Complete Set of the Terrestria Chronicles
(I will not list them seperately here you can see and buy them all at the link above just click on the name of the set)

that's our list, good luck to us getting it done,
Debbie

The Simple Woman's Daybook for the week of June 1, 2009


FOR TODAY... Monday, June 1, 2009

Outside my window... sunny and cool this morning... lots of things growing in the garden, flowers and vegetables and spices, daughter weeded it this weekend, it is growing ok considering the clay soil we have.

I am thinking... of all the things I need to get done today.

I am thankful for... my Mom giving me some money for school stuff each year. This year I spent it on my Hands of a Child Super Membership - used a coupon from the catalog (to get your own free catalog go to Hands of a Child on the home page click on the Freebie page and sign the permission, then you can download the current freebie and the catalog, the catalog has 4 or 5 coupons in it as well as a list of current lapbooks they have for sale) to get 2 months extra free, used the sale yesterday for Super Members to get:

Foundations for Chemistry Ebook
Foundations for Chemistry Ebook

Explorers of the World Ebook
Explorers of the World Ebook

The Renaissance Project Pack
The Renaissance Project Pack

Music Appreciation Ebook
Music Appreciation Ebook

for next year for school... so excited to get using these.

From the learning rooms... we are done our 180 days but the boys and I have some things to finish up. Some lapbooks to glue together and some other things to finish up. We took some time off for a visit from my Mom and we had some sickness and this week are going to get going on that as well as on our Summer Reading, see my School Shelfari for the books on our list, I am also going to do a post later today for a summer reading list for the Summer Reading Splash sign up to get their updates the Summer Reading program starts soon, they have great gifts for the kids who participate.

From the kitchen... oohhh I was going to put something in the crockpot... I have to get that done asap after I get this post done

I am wearing... green t-shirt, blue jeans, bare feet

I am creating... working on a change over of chores in our chore cards from Managers Of Their Chores

I am going... to the Library tonight, to Bible Study on Friday

I am reading... Hidden Treasure of Glaston

I am hoping... to get a lot done today

I am hearing... Gaither Vocal Band - A Capella playing in my headphones from my computer music file

Around the house... chores, summer projects, spring cleaning still to do, reading

One of my favorite things... my Pastor!! Yesterday he shocked and surprised us all by coming down from the pulpit to preach, taking off his suit coat, then his tie, then his dress shirt Free Smiley Face Courtesy of www.FreeSmileys.org (he had a t-shirt underneath), then he took his shoes off, then ooohhhhh don't look Free Smiley Face Courtesy of www.FreeSmileys.org he took his dress pants off (he had knee length shorts on underneath, LOL), then he put a pair of flip flops on. He had just come back from a two week vacation with his family and his sermon was titled "Principles from Under the Palm Tree." I love our Pastor, even when he doesn't shock us!!! He is a great preacher and if you would like to hear some of his sermons you can go to our church website Bible Fellowship Church of Newark, DE. Here is the direct link to the sermons, they usually have the sermons up by Wed. or Thurs. so if you want to listen to his sermon from yesterday check back then.

A few plans for the rest of the week: chores, reading, blogging, listening to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2009 (it starts today, sign up and pay through my link and help me out financially), write my Blast From The Past post for tomorrow, come back and read it and do your own post (Mr. Linky is still having problems as far as I know, I can't afford to upgrade to a paid one right now so you will probably have to just leave a comment with a link to your post), other blog posts I want to do, spend time with my kids, work on finishing up school stuff, do my Bible Study to get ready for class on Friday (Lies Women Believe).

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

The Zucchini plant in our Garden
(the flower is a Marigold, supposed to protect the plants from certain bugs)

our hostess The Simple Woman's Daybook

Have a great week,
Debbie

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