Surprise!!!

My wonderful, loving, sensitive, thoughtful and oh-so-generous (yeah, I'm laying it on thick) husband came home from work today bearing gifts. Well, one gift, but he handed it to me in 2 parts. The first was a little package with a round thing flat thing wrapped in foam. I had no idea what it was until the light bulb went off in my head...a camera filter. "What's this for?" I asked. We had no use for it on our simple point and shoot Canon PowerShot camera. He just looked at me and waited for me to guess....finally I got it. He bought me the new Nikon D90 camera I've wanted!!!! That's when he handed me the 2nd package...the camera!

::::::::::: Insert excitement scream here :::::::::::

Can I tell you that I am simply blown away that my husband would think to buy me such an extravagant gift in the middle of the year, so far from any birthday or holiday!?! He bought it 'just because'. He bought it because he loves me; because he thought of me today. Heavy sigh!

Here's a photo of it - taken with my old Canon of course...


I am no professional photographer, nor do I ever think I'll become one, but I am an avid scrapbooker who also loves taking photos. So...maybe in time I'll learn about my new camera enough to take better photos than ever before. Here are a few I took this afternoon - before reading the manual and before knowing what I was doing...just for kicks.









To my dear husband....

"Thank you so much honey! You are the best husband in the world...not for buying me gifts, but for taking the time to think of me, my interests and for doing things simply to make me smile. You are truly a gift from God and I am grateful that I am your wife and best friend. I love you!!!"

OK, now I'm off to see if I can make heads or tails out of the 278 page users manual. There's SO much to learn!

Reading History

I love books!!! I love reading!!! I truly want to instill the love of reading in my children. Unfortunately, Lionel is not a big reader. He does enjoy it, but he's not a self motivated reader unless it's a magazine or is a book about things that interest him directly...trains, World War 2, etc. We have a house FULL of great books, but he doesn't read on his own 'just for fun' like I do. I believe Sweet-Pea will become a reader as time goes on. She likes books more than Lionel ever did, so I'm hopeful that she will fall in love with reading. Only time will tell.

We have always loved the Beautiful Feet curriculum for our History lessons in school. We have done the following:

• Early American History (x2)
  
• US & World History
• Medieval History (x2)
  
• History of Horses

This particular curriculum combines classic literature with history which enables you to learn while enjoying great books. It's the 'living book' approach to learning. This year, Lionel decided that reading a lot of books was not going to be fun, so we decided to change to Bob Jones for his 10th grade World History class. It's working out well and we love the curriculum, but it's so different...more like a public school textbook, but that's more like his learning style, so it's a good thing.

Sweet-Pea is using Beautiful Feet once again and we love it. The Study Guide I chose to do this year, "Teaching Character through Literature", is not necessarily filled with historical events and facts even though it's her 'history' class. . We did the History of Horses curriculum last year because she loves horses so much and wanted to learn all about them. It was a tough class for her but she learned quite a bit!! We are taking it 'easy' this year though and are enjoying every minute of it. We have read many books so far...mostly simple elementary level books, but they are so sweet and full of life lessons. A few books we've read are:

• The Time of Wonder - McCloskey
• The Runaway Bunny - Brown
• Boys and Girls of Colonial Days - Bailey
• The Clown of God - dePaola
• Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge - Fox
• Rachel and Obadiah - Turkle
• When I Was Young in the Mountains - Rylant
• Miss Rumphius - Cooney
• The Library - Stewart
• Brave Irene - Steig

The study guide that comes with the curriculum gives you Bible verses and life applications to apply to each lesson, and I love that. We are moving quickly through this book and I know I'll have to supplement with other books later on this year, but they do give a huge reading list of other books to read. I highly recommend this company and their study guides/literature packs. Beautiful Feet has been fun, and I look forward to reading all the books I read with Lionel once again as Sweet-Pea gets older.

Remembering Mom

Today would have been my Mom's 75th birthday!

Oh how I wish she were here so we could celebrate her day! It was hard losing her 8 years ago to cancer, and it was hard losing my Dad last year to Alzheimer's Disease. Not a day goes by, when I don't think of them both. I wish I could pick up the phone and talk to them. I'd love to tell them about my day, all about the kids, how we've moved, what we've been up to lately etc. etc. It's the little everyday things I wish they were around for the most. I see so many of my friends enjoying their parents...having them around to babysit the kids, enjoy holidays with and so much more, and it hurts knowing that I will never get to do that with my parents ever again.

My Mom was truly an inspiration to me. She loved life, she loved her family and she was a blessing to all who knew her. She and I had a close bond. As I got older, we got closer. She loved the Lord and wasn't afraid to share that with everyone. She left behind a legacy that she will always be remembered for. She was part of a wonderful Godly heritage that I too am proud to be a part of! One day I will see her again, and I will spent eternity with her in the Lord's presence...that makes the waiting time here on earth so much easier!!

My beautiful Mom...


Mom and Dad were so much in love, and were a wonderful Christian example of what marriage is all about.


Mom, still vacationing even in the midst of being sick with cancer. Nothing got her down!!


Happy birthday Mom...I miss you but know that I'll see you again one day!

Hmmmm....

I love perusing through websites with architecture & interior design. It was always my dream to become an architect, but for some reason, I chose a different career. I suppose that was a good thing, because I'd have quit any job in the world to do what I'm doing now...staying home to raise and educate my children. There's no better job than that for me!!!

Anyhow...I've come across some pretty interesting things while browsing those sites. A few of the things I think would actually be fun to own, but I certainly wouldn't spend the money on them myself...so, if any of you care to purchase them for me, I'd be glad to add them to my home. I'll even foot the bill for a cheap thank-you note! =)

OK, here goes:

Check out this rocking lounge chair. Very cool!! I'd love to lay down on this chair with a glass of iced tea and a good book. It looks SO comfy! I wonder though, if it would rock upside down if you get it going hard enough! =)


Nice pool huh?!? The side is clear glass...it would be so fun to swim here. Hmm, the house isn't so bad either but it's got too many windows without curtains for my taste...no privacy!


Who wouldn't love to own in this little tree house?!? The tree alone is awesome.


Ooh, I like this one even better! Just put it out in the woods somewhere away from things and it'd be perfect!


This would make a very cool conversation piece, don't you think? I don't usually like things this quirky, but I do like that it's not only funky, but functional. Who comes up with this stuff?!? Hey, it may look nice in my new tree house though. =)


I'm sure my kids would LOVE to have this sink in their bathroom, especially Sweet-Pea. I'm not too sure I'd want the task of cleaning it though...both outside AND in! Imagine going to brush your teeth and seeing a dead fish floating at the top...gasp! (I only thought of that because I haven't had any great experiences with fish....they all pretty much died within 24 hours in my care!)


We love playing air hockey whenever we have access to one. Lionel had one for a while, but it was a cheap one so we got rid of it. This one would be SO MUCH FUN to play on!


Check out this portable ice rink! Can you imagine how much fun this would be to have set up in the backyard every winter?!?


OK, one last thing...

I would LOVE a colored pencil wall like this in our school room! Pretty much any color you need is right at your fingertips. Let's be realistic though...the kids would never put them back in the same spot where they got them from!!!




OK, that's enough dreaming for one day. Tomorrow, it's back to reality and back to school! We've got several great field trips coming up, so we've got to get our book work done. Have a super week, and remember...I'm really great at sending thank you notes. =)

She did it!

Sweet-Pea has wanted her ears pierced for a while now, but has been too scared to get it done. Finally, the other day she said "I'm going to do it Mom, whether I feel like it or not!" That's what I call courage!!!

So, we took her to the mall to Claire's Boutique. She sat in the chair, arms folded, and waited...


She was nervous but would never have admitted it at this point! Here she is, getting her ears cleaned and ready to be pierced...


Getting them marked at just the right spot.


By this time, her nerves were getting the best of her...


Here goes the first hole...


OK, that wasn't so bad...was it?!?


Nevermind...the 2nd one is going to hurt just as much...


See?!?


But...she got through it and is now smiling once again!!!


See the pretty 14k gold Tanzanite earrings she picked out? They match her sparkly personality! =)


She looked around at all the pretty earrings she'll be able to wear in 6 weeks. Hmm, now I know what to buy her for Christmas this year!!!!


I'm so proud of her. She was such a brave girl and I'm glad she got it over with. She's been wanting them for a year now and just needed to work up the courage. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 13, so she's a LOT braver than I ever was!!!!

Choo Choo!!

To say our son loves trains is a major understatement! He has loved them since he was very young. He started with Thomas the Tank Engine and quickly grew into the big-boy trains...LIONEL...where his nickname came from. His first train set was given to him when he turned 2 years old by Edward and I. Since then, he's collected set after set after set...not to mention the single boxcar, hopper, engine and tons of accessories here and there. Some of his trains are pretty cool!

We promised him that when we moved into our new home, he and Daddy would begin to create their layout in the basement. He is in the process of planning the layout on paper...the way the professional toy train collectors do it. So far the plan measures approx. 28' in length by 4' in some places and by 8' in other places. It's not built yet, but I promise that once the layout has begun, I'll post it all on here. Until the area of the basement has been cleared out (hopefully within the next few weeks) they can't begin. For now, he's having fun setting up mini layouts on the floor. Here are some photos...

Command Central! He wants to set up one area with all the controls on one large transformer.


Simple layout where he can run 4 trains at once.


See the smoke coming from the engine? Pretty cool! This is his NY Central passenger set, one of my favorites! He's got tons of trees, cars, signs and even electronic accessories that will be added to his layout once it's built.


The engineer hard at work. See that pile behind him? That's where his layout will be...most of the boxes will be emptied and gone, so once we go through them, he'll have plenty of space.


The train station




Sweet-Pea helped him with the accessories on this layout...thus the zebra next to the track! I believe it's from his circus set. =)


Someone just missed the train!


I think I'm just as excited about this layout as Lionel is. I tried running the layout with 4 trains going at once and it wasn't easy! It sure was fun though!

For those of you who know us and live nearby, feel free to stop over once in a while to help run the trains. Lionel sure would love to share his passion with you!

"All aboard!!!"

It was a Sweet-Pea weekend...

It was quite a weekend for our little Sweet-Pea. She turned 8 back in July, but due to our move, she didn't get to celebrate with her friends until this weekend. She was beside herself with excitement all week. We not only got to celebrate her 'birth'day, we also got to celebrate her spiritual birthday! 5 years ago on August 7th, she prayed and asked Jesus to come into her heart...a day that I'll never forget!!

We celebrated in a big way! Sweet-Pea invited 11 friends to her outside water-themed birthday party on Saturday afternoon. We figured that some may not be able to attend being that it's the summer, but every one of them responded with a 'yes', so she was thrilled. Here they are...a bunch of cuties!

Sweet-Pea is in the front (3rd from left) in the polka-dotted bathing suit.


The girls came ready to get wet. Before bringing out the water balloons, the girls did a fun sand-art craft. Once that was done, they let loose in the backyard!! It took us two evenings to fill all the balloons, and the girls 30 minutes to pop them all. Our yard looks like a confetti bomb went off on it...too funny. (Anyone want to come help us pick up the pieces?!? All 10 gazillion of them!) They had a great time though...throwing water balloons, playing on the Slip 'n Slides, dodging the water gun that Lionel attacked them with etc. It doesn't take much to please a bunch of 7-10 year old girls. =)





Sweet-Pea on the Slip 'n Slide


After they got soaked and played a while, we had a cook-out complete with hamburgs and hot dogs. Yum!


The cake? Well...let's just say that Sweet-Pea had a particular design in mind, and I tried to execute it. She wanted a waterfall cake. Yup, you read it right...a waterfall. My husband is the one who went to culinary school, not me, but I did attempt to make it and I suppose it came out OK.


The kids enjoyed the cake as did the other parents who stuck around for the fun. It was gone within 10 minutes!!


After dessert the girls gathered around while Sweet-Pea opened her gifts. She had no idea that the other kids were going to bring her gifts. I guess she forgot about that part, so when it came time to open them, she was overwhelmed. She had a blast, and I know she was grateful for all her friends and their generosity!

After the party was over and most of the people went home, two of her friends stayed around for a couple more hours to play.


The two girls Sweet-Pea recently befriended are from Holland, and have been here visiting their grandmother - our neighbor. They all seemed to hit if off so well, but I'm sad for Sweet-Pea that they will be heading home this coming Saturday.

Why can't my children find friends who actually live near us?!? This next week is a tough one for both kids. Not only is Sweet-Pea going to say goodbye to her new friends, but Lionel is going to have to say goodbye to his best friend of 14 years!!! I'm not happy about having to pick up the pieces when this week is over. I'm sure there will be lots of tears shed.

My prayer is that God will bless both of my children with friends...friends with Godly morals and values, friends who will be there for them when they need a friend...friends who will love them for who they are. Will you pray with me for them? Pray for God's blessings to be evident in their lives during the next few weeks and months. I truly want my children to see God working in their lives. I tell them over and over that good friends are a gift from God. I know He will bless them, but not until the time is right. Thanks everyone!!!