{a beautiful giveaway...}

...it is over at my friend, Joanna's, blog!

 Joanna is giving away a beautiful polished shell necklace and matching earrings.

In June I was blessed to spend 2 weeks with these sweet friends in the village where they minister in the Solomon Islands. (You can read about my adventures here on my blog in posts from June & July 2014.) I went shopping in the Central Market in Honiara with Joanna's friend, Karen, and picked up some beautiful shell jewelry there. I know these pieces with be amazing for whoever wins them!

Joanna does a beautiful sharing there about their work in Bible Translation among the Lavukal people and just sharing daily life for their family.

Please take a moment to hop over to her blog, leave her and her family a note of encouragement and add your name in the hat for this beautiful giveaway!

Joanna's daughter, Katherine, was our photographer for the picture above, it is the only picture of us together during my time there. Thanks Katherine!!!!

{this Mama's Daybook}

For to Day...

August 29, 2014

Outside my window... A beautiful sunny morning, we had rain last night which was a blessing.

I am hearing... the kids getting up and ready for school, and classical piano from my computer.

I am thankful for... a coworker of Shawn's who was willing to take our kids for a ride in her small carriage while she was in town with it.

I am praying for... my dad, we are waiting to hear what his radiation schedule will be, it didn't start this week as planned.

On my book shelf... the same books as last week, I haven't had a lot of chance to read this week.

One of my favorite things... catching quick moments on Skype with friends who live so far away! Little hints that summer is coming to an end as the pumpkins beginning turning in the garden.

In the kitchen... our freezer door accidentally got left open a little earlier in the week and some meat thawed that had to be cooked so our meals have been around that this week... enchiladas, BBQ short ribs, spaghetti and lots of veggies from the garden like this acorn squash.

 
I am creating... a "mission" scavenger hunt to save toy soldiers for Eli's birthday party next week.


In the school room... some good nature studies this week as we have found critters in the garden!
Shawn found this cute little spotted chorus frog while mowing the backyard last night.

Then Nate found this giant Wolf Spider in the garden too. He was huge!

He also found a "woolly bear" caterpillar.

In the book basket... We are reading about creation, Adam & Eve and heading into Noah and the flood next week. Our read aloud this week is Mara, Daughter of the Nile.
We also have a basket full on library books this week of the kids choice for lots of personal reading time.


Wise words I am pondering... the first verse of How great Thou Art by Carl Boberg
 O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

I am finally finishing my daybook tonight after a busy week. One thing I love about living in the vast open plains that we do is the sky on a clear night. I as walked Polly tonight, the Milky Way shone brightly among the stars. The words of this beautiful hymn were on my lips as I walked in wonder of His majesty! 

Plans from my week... I started my daybook early in the week but didn't get to finish it. It has been a busy week with school, Jui Jitzu and gymnastics.

A little peek into my world... this summer we have had beautiful zinnias in the garden that the kids planted. I have been enjoying them all summer...

The back yard was beautiful last evening, the storm was rolling in bringing rain...

{boys}

Catching up on some pictures from our summer.

These boys make me laugh, what fun they were having...

I'm in love with mud,
It's sad, I know, but true.
I just can't help but splash in it,
Or stomp a path right through.

 

 It's sticky and it's dirty,
And it covers all my clothes.
But when I see it lying there,
A voice inside me grows...

 

  ...You can't resist, you know I'm right,
It's fun to play in mud!
Look at it just sitting there,
I really think you should!

I splatter in the grimy gloop,
I can't resist the ooze!
I run, I jump, I stamp about,
It drips into my shoes!
~ Gareth Lancaster

 I think the "getting clean" was just as much fun as the mud was...

 

I love this smile! If you think about it, please pray from our little man. His bone graft surgery is a week from today.

{Priceless...}

On Friday, August 15th, we celebrated 3 special years. Three years ago at the Civil Affairs office in Changsha, Hunan, China, this little one entered our life in person. We had loved her from a distance, a tiny face in pictures and updates on emails but on this day when they placed her in my arms, this mama's heart swelled. She came home, took our house by storm and it hasn't stopped...

 so we celebrate three years, not taking for granted those who loved her and cared for her before she became ours. We have cherished the memories and moments we have had together and looking forward to so many more!

We love you "Clara-belle."

{This Mama's Daybook}

For Today

August 19, 2014

Outside my window... it rained again last night, crazy lightening at 2am. Now the sun is shining and it is heating up quickly

I am hearing... kids working together to answer questions about Titus 1 for today's Bible lesson.

I am thankful for... things coming together for Nate's bone graft surgery next month.

I am praying for... my dad as he starts 8 weeks of radiation on Monday, that the response will be good and for safety as he travels for daily treatments.

On my bookshelf... The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa Terkeurst & still praying through Praying for Boys by Brooke Glothlin, I think this one will be on the shelf with me for awhile, it is excellent!

One of my favorite things... fresh vegetables from our garden for supper, tonight we are having tomatoes, cucumber and grilled hot peppers, eggplant & squash.

In the kitchen... Grilling for supper tonight, we'll have chicken & vegetables. Lenna also found a peanut butter ice cream recipe she is going to make for dessert in the ice cream maker. {it turned out AMAZING!!!}

I am creating... Art lessons, this year I am helping teach our home school groups Art. I am actually really excited about and looking forward to getting started, after I finish my lesson plans! We are going to be studying some great artists and then doing simple but fun projects for class. I have been inspired by Deep Space Sparkle and Discovering Great Artists to come up with our list we will cover. I am also putting together reading lists that families can read at home between lessons if they want.

In the school room... Billy and Blaze for literature this week, using Memoria Press, More Story Time Treasures. We love this series and are enjoying reading them again for school. We are hitting Math hard now that we are back in school, especially reviewing math facts to get us off to a good start.

In the book basket... When Dragons Heart were Good

A is for Adam

Celebrate: A Book of Jewish Holidays

Answer Books for Kids Vol. 1 & 2

Adam and His Kin
and many more...

Wise words I am pondering... "So I circle the walls of my own Jericho- that circumstance that's bigger, stronger and tougher than me- and ask God to make them fall."~Brooke McGlothlin  

 I feel like I have a few Jericho's in my life right now, this is has been words of hope to me as I focus on giving them to the Lord.

Plans for the rest of the week...school, gymnastics practice, finishing touches for VBS (we are doing it a little different this year, it is a Friday evening/Saturday morning the first weekend kids are back to school in our little town), Lenna has an orthodontist appointment this week as well.

A peek into my day...

{This mama's Daybook}

For today:

August 12, 2014

Outside my window... bright sunshine, our summer hasn't been as hot as usual.

I am hearing... the sound of feet on the hardwood floors, Matt Redman playing in the background & the washing machine.

I am thankful for...our month with Emily, what a blessing it was to have her visit!

I am praying for... wisdom as we look at things that are ahead for our family this year and changes to come. For time management as I plan school and teach the kids and as we work around Nate's upcoming surgery.

On my bookshelf... Old Testament class study books, Praying for Boys and Rhinestone Jesus.

One of my favorite things... enjoying the last days of summer at the pool with the kids. We only have a week left that our little town pool is open. This summer we didn't make it as often as we like but it has still been wonderful when we were there!

In the kitchen... Pork loin, sweet corn and new potatoes for supper tonight.

I am creating...candles & wax melts. Shawn will once again be returning to Hungary to serve with SHARE in 2015 for the missionary care conference with a couple of the kids. The kids will be selling selling Candles & wax melts to help cover the cost of their trips with him to attend the missions conference. We have a lot of new scents this year! I will post more about them soon.

In the school room... School is in session! We started back today. This year we are continuing with some of the same curriculum we have used in the past and have added some new things.

Math U See for Math, this has been successful for our kids and I enjoy teaching it.
First Language Lessons & Total Language Plus for English depending on the grade & child.
This year we are moving to Mystery of History for History/Geography, etc. I am really excited! We are starting with Vol. 1, Creation to Jesus. We will be doing a lot of read alouds together as we work our way through ancient History, we will also have some great opportunities this year for some field trips at museums that I am excited about.
Science- we are using a couple of things, our first quarter is a unit on the Human Body.
Spelling- we are moving to Spelling Power & also using The Natural Speller.
First Start French for Lenna, though we are all listening and practicing in the car together driving to practices, etc.

In the book basket... Lots of ancient History books.

Wise words I am pondering...
"I'm working towards a culture of prayer in my home- to raise boys who don't know anything other than to ask God for everything they need." Brooke McLaughlin

A few plans for the rest of the week... School, gymnastics practice, working in the garden, dental appointments for the kids on Friday along with Eli's appointment with the Ear doc. We also have a baptism party to attend for some friends' daughter.

A peek into my day...

 

{Emily's Driving lesson...}

Friday afternoon, Emily had an appointment with the hand surgeon. Afterwards, we decided to check out the zoo before heading home.

The kids have wanted to try the peddle carts for awhile and we decided it was a perfect day to try.

 Another awesome memory made with Emily!

We are going to miss her when she heads home today, there maybe a few tears in the car on the way home I think:(

Thanks Emily for being such a trooper this month with our family!

We are so glad you came!

{Garden of the Gods- last Colorado Springs stop with Emily}

We love this place, though I really think it should be renamed- "God's Garden."

We planned a quick stop there with Emily on our way home after the Air Force Academy.

I wasn't thinking about it being summer and "tourist" time but the place was packed!

No parking near the main section, tired kids and a long drive ahead led us to just drive through and stop only at the exit before hitting the road home.

I did take a few pics before we left...

 It was a fast, packed trip but we got everything done we needed, everything is set for Nate's surgery in Sept. We enjoyed the mountains for a few hours and shared it all with Emily!

{Colorado Springs- Air Force Academy}

We made a couple of stops in Colorado Springs on our way home.

(these posts will be picture heavy again!)

First stop was the US Air Force Academy. We didn't have a lot of time and it is a plce we will take the time to stop at again when we are in the area.

We watched a brief video about Cadet life in the visitors center and then walked over to the chapel.

 I was there years ago and had forgotten just how beautiful it is inside!

 We then headed out to one of the plazas to look at the bronze airplanes.

 It's been awhile since we did some "jump"pictures but the kids decided this was the place to carry on the tradition!

 There are several stops you can make but we didn't have a lot of time so we headed to Falcon Stadium before hitting the road again!

 Some of the kids ran for "touchdowns"on the turf while others sat and dreamed of football and cheering in the stands...