Look To The Sky

sweet surprise

imagine my surprise when i saw that Ella looks like her mother in a photograph i recently uploaded.

i cannot believe my eyes.   it's a mini-me...finally!     this photograph is now my favorite.

 

this was taken a couple weeks ago, part of a bribed photoshoot.   (i had to take them all to whitehouse for donuts afterwards)

 

here's a few things i'm thankful for.....

restful Thanksgiving days and weekend

Chai Tea!

sleeping children

those sweet hugs

how tall Ella is getting

Will David's little words

Buddy's fascination and excitement over whatever fascinates and excites him

books

my music playing husband

my parents

my brother and his family

my in laws

my church

special sweet friends

sweater cardigans

sandals :-)

the color brown

Words With Friends

good memories of my grandparents

the humor of my Grandma Snyder

the Love from the Lord

Christmas music

inspiring and beautiful scrapbook supplies

a warm house and food to eat

the breath of life

Happy THanksgiving should be everyday!

my buddy boy

 
was so quiet today.  he perhaps has a bit of a cold and wanted to spend some time resting. yes, he actually went into his bed for a few moments. but now, he is outside playing in leaves.  so there you go....

and he also sincerely likes Ella's best friend, Keturah, but somehow manages to pick on her constantly when she is there. so i think he REALLY likes her.  hmmm.....

we took food over to her mother after she had surgery and brought Keturah back home so she could visit Girl Scouts with Ella last night.   it was a great time for Ella and Keturah to spend with each other.   i managed to bake cookies as well, something i don't do regularly, because i do not wish to EAT THEM ALL.  plus, i hate cleaning up after baking.  but,  pumpkin cookies are just delish.  ella said i was the best food maker she knows. that says lots because she has grandmothers!!!!!

little Will David, well he isn't sooooo really little anymore.  he's two TOMORROW! but we had a party at Chuck E. Cheese for him on Sunday.  Elmo themed.   He loves Elmo.   and all his new little toys. This coming Sunday we will celebrate WD's and his cousins second birthday as well at Rich's parents' house for that side of the family.  

some words from WD:

army 'en

daddy 'ome

baby bubble

pretty (said in high pitched voice and then a great pause...) mama

ipahh  (iPad)

bobobo...(bulldozer)

mar mar lo (marshmallow)

abby and ella are names he says perfectly

bubby (buddy!)

and so many more every day.  just love him to pieces. he's certainly so sweet and so smart.

and ella is a darling big sister to them both.   that's a big job...she gets picked upon but loved as well.   and her and keturah can comismerate together, because she has a younger brother and younger sister.

so as far as some creativity, here's another set of papers i just put in my etsy shop.  

 

it looks like my days just allow me a few moments to spare for this type of fun, but it is a delightful few minutes.   hoping for some time this weekend to work on actual scrapbooking, and other digital kit works.  

oh! i really would like to update my blog with homeschooling news, although there's not much "new" news....we've been plugging away, and this is week 11.  i have some major reorganizing to do of papers but looking forward to it. it's relaxing to me.

philip is reading better and better each day. he was doing an evaluation today, and the rest tomorrow, with phonics and has scored 100% so far.  with Ella, i have doubled up her reading assignments because she completes them quickly and efficiently and 99% correctly.   and with Buddy, his math is being double as well. so, i suppose that is going to mean so more book buying after Christmas, or perhaps end of January/beginning of February. this is called "loop scheduling" and will help with staggering homeschooling costs even if it sounds confusing to others.  think of it as overlapping of grade/material.    just going with the flow with each subject, depending on the student's abilities.  

we excavated and found fossils, built an enchanted garden and more the past few weeks...and today we started learning about deserts. we kinda abandoned our geological excavating last week but need to finish that this week as well.    these little hands on projects have really been fun for them.   

for the desert topic i want to accomplish two fun projects- colored sand layering in a jar/bottle and another idea we read today in our book-  making a polymer clay pendant signifying layers of the desert. so, a trip to the craft store will be in our near future. 

i am thoroughly content with Ella's math abilities at the moment.   i love how Philip is deciding he WANTS to learn when he wants to.

i am busy with my kids- that is what the Lord is giving me at this point in life to cherish and minister to.   it's a constant learning process. and leaning on God for his wisdom and peace and love.    i treasure my family, and am thankful for MY PARENTS who have given me sound examples of love, respect, and of God.   truly, i am blessed.

today is the day

that i finally put three items up for sale in A Spoonful of Charm! FINALLY!   I think it's ready for a new look and a new look it will get.   I have more to put in there, but time is hardpressed.    I had some WONDERFUL volunteers over at Studio Calico to experiment and play with four kits I will put in my shop.   Here is a sample of my favorite kit to be in store this week!  Botanical Treasures- includes a variety of kraft cutouts (my favorite thing to make!!),  beautiful motifs on 12x12 papers, and more!

 

and as far as family news goes....

ella and i had a mommy-daughter date today at Friends Roastery. she had hot chocolate with a yummy cinammon roll and i had a huge cup of chai latte- steaming hot and frothy. actually, her's was quite frothy as well! she asked me to watch her blow on it. cute.   we played a scrabble-like game on the ipad while we were there as well called words with friends.   i tell you what...watch out when you play ELLA!  she's a good speller and gets some great plays!

we also picked up some last minute things for WD's birthday party after church tomorrow.   he is having an Elmo themed party (sorta) at Chuck E. Cheese! he's so excited.  and so are we.

i have a friend that is having an emergency surgery tomorrow-   please pray for her and her family.  she's on my heart tonight.  

have a blessed Sunday

AMY

George...and what we did yesterday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and now for the daily events...

we excavated.   and found a shark tooth and several fossils (shells, etc.).  the kids thought this pretty cool.

the kids went to a babysitters so i could attend praise band practice during the day.   they thought that pretty cool too.

i played too much piano last night...i'm very sore today. um, well, early this morning. it's 3 am.    i fell asleep when WD did and woke up with some insomnia.

had day two of no sweets and no tv.  trying to get cleaner rooms and better bed times out of this one.   

worked on another digital kit.   trying to figure out when i can load up my Etsy shop with a few things.  seems almost impossible to accomplish right now.

shared a silly dance with my hubby that made WD giggle.

and i am now....

looking forward to a friend night tonight.   

hoping to have a change of pace today during the day, for school.

wanting to get caught up with my scrapbooking.

wish to get back into the quilt i'm making...someday.  

enjoy some Chai cups of tea.

pray for healing for different things.

have a wonderful blessed day- to you!

AMY

 

just a tidbit, or two

 

little sneak of my More Paper Than Shoes project for October! Will be on that blog on the first for the full reveal!

 
five hearts=five Russells.  ;-)

Balloons!

Finally, I am revealing a few photos from our hot air balloon sightseeing a couple weekends ago. It was an adventure, for sure, through and through!   What a breathtaking sight to see...there were twenty plus balloons lifting off ground.  We just made it for about half of them.   Traffic was not on our side, or anyone else's for that matter.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings,

AMY

precious

 

 

one of my precious gifts

Ella Christine

she loves wearing shorts

loves catching bugs

reads at night

has a sweet tooth just like her mother

is always good for a laugh

picked Spelling as her favorite subject this year

is a wonderful Big Sister

loves her brothers

teases her brothers

most certainly complains about her brothers

but still loves them!

likes to sew on mama's machine

is great at picking flowers for me

rides her scooter like a professional

is a superb soccer player

is loved by many

is treasured by me

loves God, and is loved by Him

gives the best hugs and kisses

is just a beautiful little girlie, inside and out!

and i just wanted to tell you all that!

 

 

Blessings this Tuesday!

AMY

 

what's for dinner? (and monday's thorn...

in my flesh is my neck which has just been hurting so badly the past month. it's been out, and then stiff as well, and at the moment, very limited in motion. but, it's back to the grind anyways, and to help out, my sister in law took Philip and Ella to their piano lessons (THANK YOU!!!) and I made a nice dinner schedule yesterday for the next two weeks so I am not fumbling around trying to feed the family dinner)

Yes, I finally started to make a menu for dinner again. It's been awhile since I've done that. I have found that anymore, I just don't have it together for dinner.   The day is jam packed with schooling, other stuff, etc., that honestly, dinner is the last thing on my mind.  So here's our (simple) but great plan:

Monday:    Creamed Chicken over Biscuits with Peas, and Raspberry Crunch salad

Tuesday:   Chicken Franceise, with sauteed green beans and baked potatoes

Wednesday:  Pizza, and leftover salad

Thursday:  Baked fish AND baked drumsticks, brocolli, and rolls

Friday:  tomato soup and crackers, toasted cheese

Saturday:  grilled chicken breasts, grilled steak, and baked zuchinni dish

Sunday:  more than likely, leftovers

This week I will also make some type of apple dessert!

_________________________

Next Monday: Stuffed Shells (freeze 1/2),  peas, and garlic bread

Tuesday:  chicken nuggets, sweet potatoes

Wednesday: Tacos/Taco Salad, applesauce

Thursday: Rotesserie Chicken from Giant Eagle with some type of fresh, roasted veggies

Friday: Pancakes/French Toast/Eggs

Saturday:   Soup, rolls (corn chowder or potato soup)

Sunday: leftovers, if any, and angel hair pasta as supplement

_________________________

Saturday, I went grocery shopping and have ALMOST everything I need for the next two weeks lunch and dinner wise.  Just a few things to get at the Farm Market, hopefully tomorrow, and then the basics we just pick up later this week again.

To give you a taste, no pun intended, of what we use for basics for about one week:

bread- 4-5 loaves, at least

milk- 2 gallons, plus a little more

yogurt- 3 or 4 larger containers for the adults, 3 packs of 8cups for the kids

cereal- about 5 boxes per week

peanut butter- one big natural jar

Whew...a lot!  It is nothing we could cut down either, and with prices rising it seems, well, our staples contribute NICELY, or rather, largely, to our budget.  LOL.  And you probably noticed, we're not too fancy shmancy with anything as far as food goes either. Don't get me wrong, I do like to cook, but time and energy is not something I have a lot of, so for the time being, we will have probably about 3 weeks of regular dinners we will rotate, and maybe, MAYBE I will try something NEW.

I actually looked into sites that offered their own menus and grocery lists but decided that I really could just do this on my own. We are not too picky. I just need to be prepared.  And my family will have to be ready for more pasta nights and more nights with breakfast as dinner.   I'm sure pancakes, syrup, and cream will be no problem!

What, and how, do you plan for dinner?

Blessings,

AMY

 

 

Homeschool Report, week 4

 

I can hardly believe this is our fourth week of homeschooling. We are pretty much still on schedule, or rather, my schedule. I have found my file folder plan has been the key to efficiency this year. It was a lot of work but well worth the pain and suffering I went through, and any eye rolling from family members..just kidding on the last part.

Both kids did so well with math this week. Yesterday, Buddy told me out of the blue that 5 20s make 100. Where did he get that from? Also, he finished a math worksheet by himself, that included about 40 problems or so, and they were all correct. Ella had a math test earlier in the week which she aced! It seems that switching our math program was a brilliant decision. ;-). We are using Abeka 2 AND Saxon 2. The Saxon math curriculum generally runs behind a grade, so I've read, but for Ella at this point, it has given her the confidence and reinforcement she needs in math. The Saxon math gives us the opportunity to create several charts or graphs over the course of time. We are graphing weather and clouds. We are also using geoboards ( these are awesome manipulatives for stirring the imagination!) and a wipe off hundreds chart. For Philip ( and Will David), I have animal counters in a tub with a basic plastic scale. And dominoes. WD has gotten into the habit of throwing lately, so watch out for those animal counters!

Our creation science is relaxed but still thought provoking enough. We incorporate experiments, a video clip, books, writing, and drawing. I decided to have Philip copy ONE sentence per experiment along with a sketch of the experiment in his official science composition book. I am satisfied with his work for sure....I believe that a little bit of QUALITY work with him will be best with his school work this year.

For history, thankfully I do not have to read that much, my throat cannot take reading aloud for more than a page. It seriously starts to hurt. The Story of the World curriculum we use has a CD with someone else narrating. WHEW! They enjoy listening to this, also. We have a few simple activities with this, but this year I haven't had the gumption to make us do a lot of crafts, etc.

For art, I am implementing the book Drawing With Children by Mona Books. It gives you lessons on elements of drawing, as well as suggestions for other lessons. We are using some warm up activities she suggests as well, such as copying certain designs. We did a simple line study project this week...torn paper collages, with accenting their "lines" with a black marker. Today I am going to go over the line aspect again as well as have them do a "listening" art drawing...should be interesting! We are using two spelling programs for Ella, which are also going super well. Spelling Workout, which is quite simple for Ella, and more like a review, along with Sequential Spelling Book One which is a study on patterns of words. English is First Language Lessons along with a few worksheets I find on the Internet, and writing is Writing With Ease.

Philip loves the Bob Jones Phonics we do, and is coming along nicely with writing his letters. He has some iPad time with Spanish and Math and Phonics, and Ella has the same Spanish as well. But his favorite is the Children Like Me books we use for geography. That's a little update on our schooling. I will post more specifics with our update next Friday, along with photos.

*a hint for the next photo essay if you wish to participate: vintage vignettes. Get that photo ready to link to my blog next Wednesday!!! Blessings, Amy

ps the pic is of WD helping Daddy make muffins

letting go....

this is hard.   it could be letting go of a past love.  letting go of good old pair of jeans that just don't cut it anymore.  a thoroughly dog eared book.   a baby girl all grown up.   or, letting go of a time of life.   a dream.  a friend.   a job. 

some people do this "much more better," as Ella would say (ha!!!) than others.   at this point in time, i know of someone that does this very gracefully- my grandmother.   and she's done the opposite so very sweetly as well- holding on.   it's for this example that i will hope for myself, the ability to overcome life's obstacles.   if i could have anything from her, it would be her grace.    truly, it would.    i have the opportunity to hold on to a few of her belongings since she is now in an assisted living home, but it is honestly something difficult for me.  yes, she is still here on earth.  yes, these are more than treasures, they are memories.   and those, i will gladly hold on without second thoughts of letting go.   i thank the Lord for this...did you ever thought of that?   we let go of many things, but for the most part, we can hold on to our memories, God willing. we can hold on to hope.  to love.   

i struggle with so much insecurity...it has been a huge obstacle for me in recent months, that i still am debating leaving the cyberworld for an indefinite period of time.    i can't tell you how hard it is to see other people succeeding at particular things that i desire.   and the thing is, i don't have the time or energy to do these things anyways, but my heart wants to, but then...it's a vicious cycle.  leaving at this point seems to be the only way i can overcome or let go, but then, who knows if that is the right thing to do.   i don't at this point, so i will keep seeking.

here is a peek at a creek loving boy...notice the muddied net, long sleeved shirt during summer, and a whistle hanging around his neck, given by his grandparents.