tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52168639558162820892024-02-20T21:04:43.684-07:00The Adventures of Tweet & WhootLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-74127613703681859522012-12-04T22:06:00.001-07:002012-12-04T22:06:48.744-07:00Thanksgiving Week 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I think I was more excited about Thanksgiving than the kids were...though they were quite excited, mind you. Note to self: start my Thanksgiving homeschooling plans at the beginning of October instead of fitting everything in the week of Thanksgiving. I absolutely loved what I found for our school...it was <strike>partially</strike> totally self serving because I love kid-art and kid's stories...um, especially when they are my own! On the agenda: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For Asa he had some worksheet and craftivies from a few different places including </span><a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/PreschoolPacksThanksgiving.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">1+1+1=1 Thanksgiving pack</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> and </span><a href="http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/11/turkeys-expanded.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">2 Teaching Mommies Turkey Pack</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">...and filling our Thankful leaves through out the month.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> ...let me explain day one. I asked Asa what he was thankful for and he said 'God'...oh melt my heart. He asked me to write God's name. I asked him to draw a picture on the other side. He insisted that I draw it as he does if he doesnt think he can make draw it just right...this is the very embarrasing part...I tried to draw a picture of God...that's who that red guy is suppose to be! ha! That's a very daunting task...draw God! There's humility! I was trying to draw Him with open arms, like He was going to give Asa a big hug...that's when Asa took over. He drew a little picture of himself...the little black guy...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">then he turned the leave over and asked me to right 'Go' and pointed to one side...and then asked me to right 'stop' pointing to the otherside...I knew he was going somewhere with this, but I didn't immediately know where...looking at both sides...then I realized he drew himself playing 'Red Light, Green Light' with God. HA, I love it!...so my silly looking drawing turned into something adorable.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvoRmmamH1nGZ73x9g7AKar2RXilj1LyIFC8kaZw0lxR4S205IXgckXedx1VNSoJMHrDAGolWvKgIWCRUF5g56SFprlckkgOvFxFoVhKtq1ZJfVLkboEpSYgBOASffa1V2pcfwGmcvvg/s1600/102_2045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvoRmmamH1nGZ73x9g7AKar2RXilj1LyIFC8kaZw0lxR4S205IXgckXedx1VNSoJMHrDAGolWvKgIWCRUF5g56SFprlckkgOvFxFoVhKtq1ZJfVLkboEpSYgBOASffa1V2pcfwGmcvvg/s400/102_2045.JPG" width="300" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">Gosh, if I knew Asa was going to think of something so cute, I would have tried to draw God a little better...ok, He probably would have ended up looking the same. {alright, one more adorable story...his teacher in his Sunday school class, Sprouts, said she asked the kids what they were thankful for and Asa raised his hand. He said, "Because I have Jesus in my heart". SO sweet!!!}</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Ok, back to Thanksgiving week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For Ava's lesson plan we used <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-First-Thanksgiving-activities" target="_blank">The First Thanksgiving activities by Carrie's Creations</a> which we absolutely loved! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ava 'packed' her suitcase with what she would have taken on the Mayflower.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Which included toys (like a wined up moneky, snacks (a bag of raisins) board games, gum (both the stick and ball kind) books, and pick up sticks. She was trying to pack it with what she thought they had back then. Ha. she was a little off, but pretty cute.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We also use this <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-How-To-Writing-Pack-FREEBIE" target="_blank">Thanksgiving How To Writing Pack Freebie</a> which I was so happy for just because I get to see Ava's silliness come out. This just may have to be a new tradition. We have been notebooking, so we got to keep all their treasures in their notebooks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">How to Make a Turkey Bark By Ava </span></div>
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Have a dog come over and pour magic potion on the turkey.</div>
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The dog barks to communitcate to the turkey that he poured magic potion to make the turkey bark.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The turkey barks back saying that in the next story I'll bring the turkey potion. The End.</span></div>
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First you catch a turkey. Next, you train a turkey to roll over. Last you can keep him as your pet, but be sure to give him a haircut. The End...ok, ok, I'm SO being a mom...I just think kid art is SO CUTE! sorry...</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We also did some other fun crafts like make 'fall leaves'</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And we did a few sewing projects, such as upcycling a few of my skirts into Ava sized skirts...some reason my children alway look like muppets when they smile in pictures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I did have some help. Asa's job is to 'hold the thread'. My big helper {and trouble maker!}{and no, he really doesn't where clothes...he tells me that he is trying to cut down on water consumption by decreasing our laundry}</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I made the kids Native America costume for the kids...don't know how realistic they are, but this is Ava's serious face...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ava has also learned a new skill and has taken up embrodiey. So cute! </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYMd0iLaPltjuj4s27mVRQUOC6ENHCOwKXkIFbeScFMAescS6jzeiCedHFBPitk2m-oGrnLDRjx0wxoToLoalBznp9EVy06anWUfvLRHbNOCP1y1K90kPtVhXYUs5Ar0bJd410_fqUNk/s1600/102_2110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYMd0iLaPltjuj4s27mVRQUOC6ENHCOwKXkIFbeScFMAescS6jzeiCedHFBPitk2m-oGrnLDRjx0wxoToLoalBznp9EVy06anWUfvLRHbNOCP1y1K90kPtVhXYUs5Ar0bJd410_fqUNk/s320/102_2110.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">We had a great Thanksgiving with my sister and a friend who stopped by. We made some Christmas trees as trial for our Craftivity party with Ava's art class buddies to talk about why we have a Christmas tree to celebrate Christ's birth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can't forget about the <a href="http://happyhomefairy.com/2011/11/23/a-thanksgiving-skit/" target="_blank">Thanksgiving skit</a> the kids preformed and the turkey trivia Ava wrote based on the Wild Kratts episode about wild turkeys. And the game the kids created...Turkey hunting...they run around and gobble as the adults try to throw balls at them...then they fall down and die...wow...We also played cards with the kids...and by that I mean Adam played cards with the Ava and Asa...that takes some patience. Ava said it was the best Thanksgiving EVER! {as she does with ever holiday...ha}</span><br />
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Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-7288582951706712302012-11-29T22:15:00.000-07:002012-11-29T22:15:00.430-07:00What to do with this boy...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiCOPqZiXxCmwht5b9jRxAtI7KX2dfR7UVYbLD9KQCJrJMwI4x3IJfMnxncx4qd5T6PM1nYsJrGNrzpZnlq6k0bOkmya-sZzR_mrIpq_bGsQtMMg2VAlUizo8OxZcnA-GcVxYHA48GI4/s1600/SDC11798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiCOPqZiXxCmwht5b9jRxAtI7KX2dfR7UVYbLD9KQCJrJMwI4x3IJfMnxncx4qd5T6PM1nYsJrGNrzpZnlq6k0bOkmya-sZzR_mrIpq_bGsQtMMg2VAlUizo8OxZcnA-GcVxYHA48GI4/s640/SDC11798.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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No, my son is not running around in the backyard in only his underwear and cape in the middle of November. Don't be silly. He doesn't have on his mask and cape right now. I was looking through our pics over the last few months and found these. I can tell you that I have a few things to learn about boys. I really had no idea how different they are and how foreign the boy/man realm is to me. Trying to teach this boy the same way I taught my daughter at this age just doesn't fly...haha, unintentional pun, but I'll go with it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL3byb6GYYOQm-2ZovYvvSk33dxuTppS-t0aSESmEcFRA4jnwKEUSGA0fjohVHSZgDnIVDFgHNXmXazvCnISfkENsmnGRsa9uQ_cy1aidGPccKGGHlgoZUk5nUAF_NZHoM7a_2WhTCJQ/s1600/SDC11797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL3byb6GYYOQm-2ZovYvvSk33dxuTppS-t0aSESmEcFRA4jnwKEUSGA0fjohVHSZgDnIVDFgHNXmXazvCnISfkENsmnGRsa9uQ_cy1aidGPccKGGHlgoZUk5nUAF_NZHoM7a_2WhTCJQ/s640/SDC11797.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I know you are thinking...great instagram pics, huh? you know the intentional out of focused pics with the oh so perfectly placed well-loved stroller in the back...oh no, my camera does that naturally! I'm just cool that way. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvOGX3vTXqUidmN0iAFvItoteK1f-wld6PLx7oV0uCF2CSVhPrpMaCPZkNiNAJhBr4ZB_dUFSQa1-hbwt6PPCEfZDbG65ujx0ux75_IR6fmL5d0kRLovwHKj-fwstoTETkt94cExSD8c/s1600/102_1875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvOGX3vTXqUidmN0iAFvItoteK1f-wld6PLx7oV0uCF2CSVhPrpMaCPZkNiNAJhBr4ZB_dUFSQa1-hbwt6PPCEfZDbG65ujx0ux75_IR6fmL5d0kRLovwHKj-fwstoTETkt94cExSD8c/s400/102_1875.JPG" width="300" /></a> Anyways, I'm learning. I think. One week I felt like we made great progress in his counting ability...he usually wants to do schoolwork just like Ava. We start and then he remembers he has no interest. But this specific week he made great strides in counting and was showing off to daddy his mad skillz. Uh, then I confessed that I let him have a lot of candy that week, smarties to be exact. If he counted them, he could eat them...haha...ok, don't tell our dentist that. I'm still learning. Oh how I wish I would write down what these kiddos say more often! For a while there Asa was asking me if we could go to Africa everyday to get "a real elephant pet" that he would name Cobin. Now he keeps asking for "a real hamster pet" that he would name something like fireman-ice-cream-dog or something...he knows to add the 'real' in there now...substitutes just are flying anymore with him. But after the incident at our friends house where he was spinning the hamster wheel with the hamster in it...faster than the hamster could run...that might now happen too soon...poor hamster. But his sweet pleas might just do me in. </div>
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I just love children's art! Don't you love the little hat. You think my son gave me a Van Gogh when he makes me a picture! </div>
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I haven't taken enough pictures or blogged nearly enough to remember everything I've wanted to this school year! Some days seem magical and some days seem like I just need a nap or a 5th cup of coffee.</div>
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I feel like I have grown in the art department myself. I always had the art supplies up where they weren't nearly as accessible but since we made an art desk (not pictured) in the living room and started notebooking for school, the kids have really enjoyed it more and I'm sure we will be thrilled to be able to look back on the year to see all they {<i>we've</i>} learned! I'm still trying to learn what to do with this crazy, snuggley, comedic boy, but its a pretty fun adventure. </div>
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<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-63816321826026071372012-10-27T13:42:00.003-07:002012-10-27T18:11:35.646-07:00E.C.H.O. 5K and other news<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we got to participate in the E.C.H.O. 5K and kids fun run...ok, Adam sat on the side lines to take care of the kids while I ran. What a man! Though next time he said he'd run with me! The kids costumes aren't ideal to run in, so they wore other costumes. We borrowed a Cookie Monster costumes from some friends. Last night I realized Asa was dressing as Cookie for the End Childhood Obesity race...haha....ok, So instead we are saying he is Veggie Monster...but he did't want to hold the cloth carrots we brought with us. Oh, well. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDGvgNUDuj0gCDh9L6-aTIlYE2OTdSVRVEmPzgMfKtWRwhHxZ9YGRemMeBXLK1NWlyrBam6NmCoC5c6BZpgg3xuf8Lo55gBZyO0qXjOVoTLTahZ0Vuh6iwnNB7NUkkYJewG-VH90tcUE/s1600/102_1916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDGvgNUDuj0gCDh9L6-aTIlYE2OTdSVRVEmPzgMfKtWRwhHxZ9YGRemMeBXLK1NWlyrBam6NmCoC5c6BZpgg3xuf8Lo55gBZyO0qXjOVoTLTahZ0Vuh6iwnNB7NUkkYJewG-VH90tcUE/s640/102_1916.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xSzGpFoewAp_Cbg5j6YLf8JO09VeHwnHGrFo8mu3HT4OvjDj_JToxZj0WIevAi_NYhAmdyBUWVE8N1qnpEJC2-qahrxj9ZuXovUDe3vfje3o1iw3zQAaNklM5WCK7a0aNjmWKJcWzbk/s1600/102_1922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xSzGpFoewAp_Cbg5j6YLf8JO09VeHwnHGrFo8mu3HT4OvjDj_JToxZj0WIevAi_NYhAmdyBUWVE8N1qnpEJC2-qahrxj9ZuXovUDe3vfje3o1iw3zQAaNklM5WCK7a0aNjmWKJcWzbk/s320/102_1922.JPG" width="240" /></a> This is about the only picture Asa would let me get of him as he is on a take-no-pictures-of-me spree. The kids fun run had a false start and Asa was a blue blur. When everyone was calling the kids back to restart, Veggie Monster bursted into tears. I think he thought he did something wrong. He was the cutest crying Cookie, I mean Veggie Monster I'd ever seen. He was so upset he wouldn't run the race. But let me tell you, he would have killed it. Now we tell our kids that its not about winning, but then we whisper about their accomplishments. ha. Ava was very excited when she came in 4th {she was keeping an eye on her 'competitors' all about 4 feet and under}. Now...if she looks like she is wearing lingerie...my sis and I went to an estate sale with tons of 1950's clothing, where I got Ava clothes that filled her dress up box. She thinks its a fairy costume. :) Her Narnia costume is too long and bulky for her to run in.<br />
Asa still got a medal which helped him recover a little bit. Next was the awards, which included best costume awards. I had no idea that Darth Vader, the Cat in the Hat with Thing 1 and Thing 2, among others were runners.<br />
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This is my crazy friend chuck....I mean Kris. She dressed up like her running partners husband. I passed by her when we first arrived because I didn't recognize her! She is the reason why I was insane enough to come to the race. I squashed my best time, under 36 minutes, haha..., and that was with hills {not saying too much since I've only ran more than 3 mile a total 3 or 4 times, but still}. My calves were crying up the hills! {uh, I was walking up most of them!} I think I need to start doing some strength training. I was trying to keep up with a speed walker named, Terry. He is quite the popular fellow around here as there were 4 people, I believe, dress like him, which included long white wigs. Speed walkers didn't start passing me up until about the mile marker, which is better than I was expecting. And none the the non-speed walker passed me up which was a very good sign. Ha! </div>
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Chuck & chuck. </div>
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Twins! {Chuck said she could have at least made her mustache black, ha, ha.} Kris was 3rd in her division!!!!!!</div>
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Then we came home to this! Asa was laughing SO hard as Cookie was chasing him around trying to eat him. Adam started off using cookie as a puppet. This is Asa's entire costume on Adam's head. Haha...he doesn't know I'm putting this pic on the blog. {now I can see I need to clean under the couch}<br />
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Last night we went to Boo at the Zoo. I was a little scared myself, but the kids loved getting candy...the night before we went to End Childhood Obesity race...haha. The kids got to wear their Narnia inspired costumes. Ava said she was a Medievil princess. She wasn't smiling because she said they didn't smile in olden day pictures. That and the fact the line was about 5 kilometers long! Ava was playing thumb war with herself.</div>
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I wanted Asa to wear his crown, but this is about the only time he did, because he found his helmet and apparently thought it was more cool.<br />
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Asa kept poking everyone with his sword! </div>
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We will get some better pictures in the costumes. The kids were quite cute! </div>
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In other news:<br />
Is this not the cutest picture of Larry the Cucumber! Asa drew this. So sweet. I love kids pictures!<br />
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We went to the Oglebay Fest, which included a parade. I love parades! Its the truth.</div>
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Ok, this not at the Oglebay fest, but isn't he so cute!</div>
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Um, on a side note, I've never seen a baby crawling contest before, but I was uh, <i>fortunate?</i> enough to watch one at Oglebay Fest....in the rain. Those poor babies!!! Just say'n...seriously, a baby crawling contest?!? We are in Wheeling, West Virginia...full of runners and baby crawling champs...</div>
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One last note from my niece, Gabby:</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires!</span></div>
<br />Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-56521097518376866552012-10-25T20:26:00.000-07:002012-10-25T20:26:00.311-07:00What to do on a rainy afternoon...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDR4BSlHzHU94rTzSt3Mx71MH71PVS7cYt29PqkK2eItE-mZ8Z2wwCt61WwTH1ZJvcOttgCiWuQfcm2bk4T1pFb0lbzac8J-u62oLOGeAr_5F_9jfbRnCXNimRKS-9dIUQEa_345BU50/s1600/100_1524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDR4BSlHzHU94rTzSt3Mx71MH71PVS7cYt29PqkK2eItE-mZ8Z2wwCt61WwTH1ZJvcOttgCiWuQfcm2bk4T1pFb0lbzac8J-u62oLOGeAr_5F_9jfbRnCXNimRKS-9dIUQEa_345BU50/s1600/100_1524.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny Tot Trot</td></tr>
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I love those articles and emails about what you could do with your kids when its raining outside. See, I was born in Florida and though I didn't live there much after I could walk, if you didn't play outside in the rain, then you didn't play outside. Then we moved to Arizona, where kids don't want to play outside until it rains in fear that they might come back inside the house looking like a sweaty tomato. When it rains and kids flock to the windows, you would think that they were seeing Santa Clause or something! I can say about the only time the thought, "running might be fun", would cross my mind would be on a rainy afternoon. It would remind me of all the endings to great sappy movies, where the couple torn by misunderstanding of their love for one another, would run towards each other drench from the rain. Ha. It always has to be raining. Alas, this blog post is not actually about rain. Its about the day I decided to run. Yes. I entered the the insane club. Of course I was/am influenced by some people of questionable sanity, namely Kris and Brooke, but don't tell them that I mentioned their names ;) <br />
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Anyways, so it began one rainy afternoon on October 7th, when I thought. I've always wanted to go for a run in the rain. I had bought a wind breaker at Goodwill only to find out it was a kids large and fit a little funny, but hey it worked! Honestly, I didn't even think I could run a mile! I didn't run much more than a mile, but I still did it. I wasn't sold on becoming a runner, but after emailing Kris who is like a cheer leading/ Barnabas running junk or something, she had me interested. If you ask me on a day to day basis why I have kept running these last 3 weeks, I'd say homeschooling and cleaning drove me to it! but Kris' encouragement keeps me going! She's already got me reading a book, blogs, articles...<i>on running</i>...who am I? Thanks, Kris, thanks a lot. What did you do to me?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny Tot Trot....not quite a 5k :)</td></tr>
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<i>Off My Rocker</i><br />
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So somehow Kris has convinced me to enter a 5k this coming Saturday only after 3 weeks of running. Until last week I had never ran 3 miles before! I was very much relieved when I actually did run 3 miles {insert screeching record sound} ok, wait up...I can't actually run 3.1 miles. No, not yet I can't. Its more walk/run intervals. Hey, its a <i>thing</i>! I can justify this because people actually train to do this intentionally, even in marathons (I would think especially in marathons!). So, I will be the one in my full speed jog being passed up speed walkers and regular walkers alike! I only get a 2 minute head start before the walkers start and I know that's not enough! But people will be dressed in costumes, the kids get to do a fun run, and it will be family friendly, so its a good one to start with....pray for me, none the less!<br />
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Sorry, this was a really long post all about me. and running. but at least I can look back a year from now and see where I am. You know it's tough having a blog. Its me, me, me all day long! {that was suppose to be a quote from Julie and Julia, but I think I messed it up}<br />
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I have to go spray <i>Freeze it!</i> all over my body. I'm telling Adam its my new body spray.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-15084749451714878872012-10-11T20:49:00.000-07:002012-10-11T20:50:42.902-07:00all in a days playA few weeks ago we were blessed with a visit from Mawmaw & Pop for the weekend! We had a weekend of fun...well, Pop may say he had a weekend of work! He hung up several curtain rods, a coat rack, shelves, magnet board, chalk board...the list goes on. He got more done in one day than we would have in a year! Thanks, Pop!!! On Friday we all headed to the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. We had never been there and had a blast. It would have been very easy to spend all day there, especially in the MakeShop area where they had sewing, book making, woodworking, circuitry, and animation. It really inspired me to start making our house more crafting friendly...you know, actually take some stuff out of the attic so we can have craft supplies ready to use. Anyhow, here is our trip the the museum in pictures...I can't believe I didn't get more of Mawmaw & Pop<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">circuitry 101-Asa LOVED this</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sewing hair bows</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the kids weren't the only one's playing...the tour guy to the guys in suits in the back commented on his wonderful technique </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">catching letters...this reminded Ava of the Electric Company</td></tr>
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Going to the Children't Museum would be in a day in itself, right? uh, not on this day! We headed to lunch, then to Ikea, then the Sarris Ice Cream and candy shop...whew...crazy!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi304Bh_i8snvORatIgDcGxVqVuzqM0WzN_z7m197UUEuns13oLGF-bvXSusDCQBBvS4acoWocOswleoXBu39PtElSpJuFCQWVdnS8Ml-YmawdmyXgySDiq4oHzM5Z2d7qoyAjIvX2-6_A/s1600/102_1819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi304Bh_i8snvORatIgDcGxVqVuzqM0WzN_z7m197UUEuns13oLGF-bvXSusDCQBBvS4acoWocOswleoXBu39PtElSpJuFCQWVdnS8Ml-YmawdmyXgySDiq4oHzM5Z2d7qoyAjIvX2-6_A/s640/102_1819.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not a fan of the pictures</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sharping his weapons..oh my</td></tr>
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Fortunatly our ride was roomy! We rode in Mawmaw & Pop's RV, which the kids LOVED!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">holding their breath in the tunnel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asa LOVES his feather-down pillow...Ava doesn't want it touching her...ever</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we had some entertainment...it was not appreciate by all</td></tr>
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I would just like to add that we shared that Banana Split. What a fun and tiring day!!! I'm sure we will do it again...uh...just not all in one day, I'm sure! </div>
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Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-5220250544596893472012-10-10T20:04:00.001-07:002012-10-10T20:12:08.438-07:00Easy Word Art<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5844492/Jesus" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Wordle: Jesus"><img alt="Wordle: Jesus" height="300" src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/5844492/Jesus" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); padding: 4px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you click on the link, it will take you to Wordle.net to create your own!</td></tr>
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So its no surprise that I'm behind on the times, not in the loop with what's hip and happening...haha..I sound like a grandma already! Maybe other's know about <a href="http://wordle.net/">Wordle.net</a> but I had no idea how people made cool word collages except with Word somehow or to just order something on Etsy. While Ava and I were surfing the web for some printable binder covers (we are loving the journal notebooks for each subject this year), we came across <a href="http://wordle.net/">Wordle.net</a> where you can make many variations of word collages or whatever they are called. We made some cool ones with Ava and Asa's front and center. You simply enter a multitude of words. The more time you repeat a word the bigger it gets. Then push ok. You can then change the color scheme or customize the color scheme, make it vertical, horizontal, both, or 'everywhichway', etc. I wish I could show you Ava & Asa's. I created this one in less than 5 minutes! Pretty cool.....thought I would just spread the word...<br />
Here's one in the gallery I found that I liked!<br />
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<pre id="embed" style="background-color: #eeeeff; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21.33333396911621px; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5844530/Southern_Belle_Simple_-_What_We_Love_About_Fall_" title="Wordle: Southern Belle Simple - What We Love About Fall "><img alt="Wordle: Southern Belle Simple - What We Love About Fall " src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/5844530/Southern_Belle_Simple_-_What_We_Love_About_Fall_" style="border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 4px;" /></a></pre>
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Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-34164587283646103502012-08-27T18:38:00.002-07:002012-08-27T18:38:37.971-07:00Happy Monday: Our First Day back to school 2012-2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the first day of school was approaching I noticed I was a bit more excited than Ava, which made me a bit worried that the first day of school wouldn't go as smoothly as it did in my beautifully smooth expectations were in my head, complete with smiling children who would respond with, 'Why thank you, mother, for all your hard work and dedication'. I took Ava's groans every time I mentioned school as a sign that that might not happen. This would also be the first year Asa would be really joining in on the fun, plus I'll be watching a sweet little girl one to two days a week. Just to throw one more thing in the mix, I'm not using a set curriculum with an instruction manual and everyday planned out like I had last year. To a seasoned pro this is nothing, to a newbie who wants everything to be just right and meet up with her unrealistic expectations...well...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTVYafcF1-l4M94aSVc1uAYfV1cBwOcAsaHS1fpCz3kyjg4JFsfQCjZkZO5eqqs9FnFE8gPZQAnu4wHvLuZCRWZ9IhB4swAJk_Aw8TSNJXDv93vI5NoK904k9on2aXi1dZtIrPAjAFvk/s1600/SDC11692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTVYafcF1-l4M94aSVc1uAYfV1cBwOcAsaHS1fpCz3kyjg4JFsfQCjZkZO5eqqs9FnFE8gPZQAnu4wHvLuZCRWZ9IhB4swAJk_Aw8TSNJXDv93vI5NoK904k9on2aXi1dZtIrPAjAFvk/s640/SDC11692.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava said Mr. Macaw was also excited.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxH2jtOjFMnMyWeaACDiOCHIcjHx30iRqMx6BsAHAFGA5rfo4wZw22oKDXSiPRu_SdrF1chubQO6pAcC1jAUC5Shjkov2Yw98NZngMsaUecpCJBLlSRCWvgZAWDYOTyW1eYn6B7mUht8/s1600/SDC11700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxH2jtOjFMnMyWeaACDiOCHIcjHx30iRqMx6BsAHAFGA5rfo4wZw22oKDXSiPRu_SdrF1chubQO6pAcC1jAUC5Shjkov2Yw98NZngMsaUecpCJBLlSRCWvgZAWDYOTyW1eYn6B7mUht8/s400/SDC11700.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; color: black; display: inline !important; font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTGosxDin7wYv5Nsqt0SxlHPs8DVrY61RXbsCS0wFrxJZzuDLzeiGkpZX6zhW0wpoQoeA5HCLrFqDXnsBHmjnHN9LWb7KiRIIu3MGLD_CNYCI3GBmpdWGbn_UGMbjSeHb8j4CX-SEtfw/s1600/SDC11699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">Av</a>a's sign reads 1st day of First Grade</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTGosxDin7wYv5Nsqt0SxlHPs8DVrY61RXbsCS0wFrxJZzuDLzeiGkpZX6zhW0wpoQoeA5HCLrFqDXnsBHmjnHN9LWb7KiRIIu3MGLD_CNYCI3GBmpdWGbn_UGMbjSeHb8j4CX-SEtfw/s1600/SDC11699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTGosxDin7wYv5Nsqt0SxlHPs8DVrY61RXbsCS0wFrxJZzuDLzeiGkpZX6zhW0wpoQoeA5HCLrFqDXnsBHmjnHN9LWb7KiRIIu3MGLD_CNYCI3GBmpdWGbn_UGMbjSeHb8j4CX-SEtfw/s400/SDC11699.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asa's sign reads 1st day of Preschool</td></tr>
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To my surprise both kids woke up before my alarm went off (I was going to try to wake up a little earlier than them...6:30) and they were raring to go! We had french toast and eggs and we all got dressed...this is a big deal because Asa doesn't like to wear clothes. But when he does, he likes button down shirts and khaki pants...nature boy or preppy boy....all or nothing....he errors on the side of nature boy/nothing though. We were going to go for a walk before we started school. I thought they would love this and might put them in a good mood Ava was not excited about school. But Ava was insistent that she wanted to skip the walk and start school as soon as possible. Praise God! We finally got into our school room at 8:30! My goal was actually 8:00 but I guess the coffee took longer to kick in than I thought. We started the school year off with a 1st grader and a preschooler! Time flies! Now I feel funny saying I have a 5 year old 1st grader, but Ava won't hesitate! ...though she will remind you that she is almost 6! Asa really wanted to join in last year, so this year I have more for him to do, but I won't flunk him if he just wants to play.<br />
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Now having a school room is new for us! In a way I loved having school at our dinning room table. We don't need anything fancy, just great books! But its SO nice not having to put everything away come dinnertime...bring out school books, pack up, wipe, and repeat sort of thing. There are still some projects I want to complete in the schoolroom, but it was by God's grace that it actually came together because I take forever to do projects! If you look closely, there is painter's tape everywhere!<br />
The day started with calendar/circle time since we are using <a href="http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week">Letter of the Week from Confessions of a Homeschoole</a>r and then we worked on their work boxes, which they loved! I'll write an ode to work boxes soon. I thought Asa would dive right in because he in constantly doing crafts or things you'd find in a workbox anyways, but we didn't even get though taking a couple pictures before he said...well just take a look at the pictures first...<br />
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At this point Asa said, "I'm bored"....pause....he lays his head on his desk, "I sooooo tired!" haha, I guess all that excitement, waking up at 6:00am, finally caught up with him at his school desk at 8:35am.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how we spent calendar time. Asa said, "Mommy, I wanna nuggle". oh, melt my heart.</td></tr>
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Fortunately, the little guy perked up to learn about our Letter of the Week!<br />
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He did such a great job. I'm always impressive with him coordination, yet he gets upset when its not perfect just like Ava did/does, regardless of my encouragement. He really liked his work but didn't last too long before he wanted to lay on the couch with his pillow (a giant, feather down pillow he has claimed as his lovey) .<br />
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Ok, so the reason I don't scrapbook is because I always want to use all of my pictures....well, same issue here. I only took pictures the first half hour give or take of our school day, yet I'm using every picture! I meant to take pictures outside with the kiddos holder their signs so they would be more clear but we never did. I'd also like to mention that it didn't take long before Asa took all his clothes off!<br />
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Ava did a great job in record time. This week I've added some review which she zoomed through today. She had fun making a worksheet with proper nouns relating to her as well as doing 'cupcake' math, and learning about her own history in Story of the World.<br />
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I am so excited about our curriculum this year, its a little ridiculous! Here is just a little overview:<br />
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Language Arts: <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/008253/bee241253d218656a1c99339" target="_blank">Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading</a>, <a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/language-arts/grammar.html" target="_blank">First Language Lessons</a>, <a href="http://www.susanwisebauer.com/books/writing-with-ease-strong-fundamentals/" target="_blank">Writing With Ease</a>, readers, and lots and lots of read-alouds!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mathusee.com/" target="_blank">All About Spelling</a>: If you would have told me that I would be this excited about SPELLING...I would have laughed. in your face.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mathusee.com/" target="_blank">Math-U-See</a>: while Ava is continuing with Math-U-See, I am adding in a lot of hands on work instead of all the worksheets because she found math pretty boring last year. The Math-U-See videos and teachers instruction manual are SO good I did not want to try anything else. Me and Teacherspayteacher.com and pinterest have been best buds.<br />
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<a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/the-story-of-the-world-vol-1-ancient-times-revised-edition-paperback.html" target="_blank">Story of the World with activity book</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/the-story-of-the-world-vol-1-ancient-times-revised-edition-paperback.html" target="_blank">Apologia's Land Animals of the sixth day with the Junior Notebooking Journal </a><br />
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Map work<br />
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Missions and Bible<br />
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I'm so excited about this year! Um...our whole school day only took 2 hours! I was sad when it was over! I guess it was a good first day easing back into things. The truth is that, I do believe, homeschooling is the easier part of the day. Later today Asa squirted spray sunscreen all over my kitchen cabinets while I was cleaning another room and managed to figure out how to make a weapon out of a child's plastic fork by placing it in a vacuum tube, swing it forward, while the fork launches out. The kids also got to play in the rain, midway through, yet again Asa was half naked, and they also managed to watch too much tv and play on the computer too much. I'm shooting for a longer school day tomorrow. All that to say, we didn't even eat on our kitchen table tonight!..but instead on the living room floor, picnic style, because we are in the middle of painting the dinning room. Se la Vie.<br />
Oh we also ended the day with Apple cake seeming how this is "A" week...yeah, just an excuse to make this not so healthy, but super easy recipe: <a href="http://alizadventures.blogspot.com/2012/07/fresh-apple-cake.html" target="_blank">Apple Cake</a> Thanks, Corrine for pinning it! But...Asa didn't want any because he was too tired from getting up so early. So it didn't end up being a learn moment, but the rest of us gave it an A+...ok. corny, I know. Here's to a happy Tuesday!<br />
p.s. For the second year in a row Ava has suggested that our school name be "The Maths"...we are still working on improving that...Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-79819101217019656842012-04-14T20:48:00.001-07:002012-04-14T21:12:11.402-07:00Finding the End of ME...the easiest $38 spent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just hit the like button on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/compassionintl"> Compassion International's Facebook page</a>! I was browsing through the posts and pictures thinking about what I spend my time looking at on the internet each day and wondering if it was really worth my time compared to something eternal and valuable such as my family or what I was experiencing on Compassion's fb. At that point I got to a post asking the question: </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">FILL IN THE BLANK: Before I sponsored a child, I used to spend $38 a month on ________________. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">People had a lot of excellent answers!: clearance at Target, Starbucks coffee, nothing good, fast food,..even boozes! But the best answer someone had-I thought-...are you ready for this? (drum roll, please)....<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">ME</span></u></b>. Hit.the.nail.on.the.head! Seriously, enough said. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ramatu in Ghana, Africa</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">My sis and I were talking yesterday and I was telling her that sometimes I feel guilty because we can't afford to put our kids in sports/programs etc. I think about how much Asa would just love tumbling or Ava would love soccer or nature camp, creating special moments that don't even exist in my head (have I told you that I have an excellent imagination!)...thinking that they are missing out on something crucial. <i>Seriously silly</i>. When I stop to really think about all the blessings we not only have, but how much easier life is when we aren't focusing on so many distractions, I am thankful! I know I'd get sucked in to thinking that it was super important to get the right gear, to be somewhere on time, to be <i>overwhelmed</i> (very easy for me to do) etc, when I really, REALLY want to teach my kids to serve. I'm not saying its bad to do those other things! We might someday! I'm just saying we get such a blessing, a HUGE blessing in Sponsoring Ramatu, our Compassion child! I am so blessed to have true quality time with my kids, one-on-one for most of the day to grow their souls toward Christ! and His calling for us to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth and to help those in need. Because believe me...I can easily make things about </span><b style="line-height: 18px;"><u>ME, ME, ME</u></b><span style="line-height: 18px;"> instead about loving God and others! Truth be told, I can stress out about spending money...even tithing...uh, dumb. I should be relying on GOD not MONEY. But that $38 for Ramatu is the EASIEST money for me to spend each month! Ramatu has a face. She has a name. We know her need and how they are being met. Its so EASY for us in comparison for how her life is CHANGED by our $38...we could easily spend that on fast food or cable or coffee...all things consumable and GONE for eternity, but Ramatu's life can be CHANGED for eternity instead! Even if when the budgets tight...hello~paying off debt, its tight~ It's not even a question. We are so blessed by it!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> Meet Ramatu! She will be 8 in June. Her father died, but she has 2 brothers, and a mother who works as a food vendor, but cannot always find work. She is quite the artist (simple pictures, but really well done!) for a 7 year old and she likes group games and jumping rope. Her chores are to carry water and clean. We get to write to her (on the internet...and even get to pick what 'stationary' we want to use) and pray for her at meal times, etc.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> Now I am in no way claiming that I have found the end of me...hence the ING-participle (is that what it is?). Its a long journey, my friend. But in a small way, Ramatu is part of sending me down that path. I am literally eternally grateful. I hope that one day we will get to visit her in Ghana as a family! In the mean time I'll try my binoculars and see if those help, while I strap my canteen on my shoulder. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> If you have ever considered sponsoring a child through Compassion or World Vision or whomever...DO IT! Its such a blessing to our family, but it truly changes one little girl's or boy's story forever!</span></span></span></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-38402045075165559002012-04-10T19:08:00.001-07:002012-04-10T19:18:31.240-07:00Stories to Tell<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ava has almost completed her kindergarten curriculum with Sonlight! We were both very excited and felt very accomplished talking about how we would celebrate her kindergarten graduation at the end of May! Part of me doesn't want school work to end for the summer...the other part of me is much more excited than Ava is! :) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpiJMdZXdRAbZewBk_PkpumKe4eewuuIqZIwFlvE2X67W8mzs7pfLQUdCniup8xh2BS96PFmHL_m1nNmPSx2L6cb_b-CxsDEubaF46GLGO3ANSguCdlSIHqO2USy1NywEUIEQfwr5GF0/s1600/in-grandmas-attic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpiJMdZXdRAbZewBk_PkpumKe4eewuuIqZIwFlvE2X67W8mzs7pfLQUdCniup8xh2BS96PFmHL_m1nNmPSx2L6cb_b-CxsDEubaF46GLGO3ANSguCdlSIHqO2USy1NywEUIEQfwr5GF0/s200/in-grandmas-attic.jpg" width="140" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjvgMaxWuz0kmMdBCKp5UeW0lF2Aun9sq_1Pm5qyrYOmCtGUD57tz_9XP3UTTtgHBw41rO6PUxdJj98O84ZYi5Bjy3nl8YmZvwIrmuQvOuCzmvtY7GSp3sHWPilS906xXAA-b6BiTUkE/s1600/SDC11126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjvgMaxWuz0kmMdBCKp5UeW0lF2Aun9sq_1Pm5qyrYOmCtGUD57tz_9XP3UTTtgHBw41rO6PUxdJj98O84ZYi5Bjy3nl8YmZvwIrmuQvOuCzmvtY7GSp3sHWPilS906xXAA-b6BiTUkE/s320/SDC11126.JPG" width="320" /></a>Read aloud books are not only my favorite part of school, but definitely one of my favorite parts of the day. We snuggle together and read great books, mostly books I've never read before. We are currently reading<a href="http://www.amazon.com/In-Grandmas-Attic-Series/dp/0781403790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334108108&sr=8-1"><i> 'In Grandma's Attic'</i> </a>by Arleta Richardson., stories of a girl hearing stories from her Grandma as a little girl based on stories Arleta heard from her grandmother. The stories are filled with silliness, faith, and morals. The Sonlight curriculum suggested having a handful of stories to tell your children about yourself as a little girl. I really didn't think I could think of or retell stories like Arleta does, but I have come to find out the little stories are just as special. Ava loves the story about Nana leaving a whole jar of pickles on the table while she went to work on the garden. When my sisters got home (my mom had told them that there were pickles on the table), they found the jar empty and wondered why our mom would do that to them...they came to find out that I had eaten the whole jar...well, not the jar, the pickles in the jar... The kids laugh and laugh about pickles...there is not moral, but they think its so funny. </div>
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As I was making a potpie for dinner tonight I was able to tell them about how Nana would give me the extra dough when she was making something with pie crust. I would make little cookies and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them. This was something her mom did with her, she did with me, and now my kids get to do. Those little things that I never write down (uh, well I am right now) make life so meaningful. Those are the moments I want to capture. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dYHEeneJ9ZqQJSKz_NXv_5gxK8_vJcUhYcjxnMEGxPJaC-3rqsKUp4TOSNGByFX4ZtDuzg9uff9dtUswgVteIDUOki6AdmN0mDHP0kn4Tlt5J6ZHEbWoqr_uo37rEdp2rnXYEgG4zcI/s1600/SDC11138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dYHEeneJ9ZqQJSKz_NXv_5gxK8_vJcUhYcjxnMEGxPJaC-3rqsKUp4TOSNGByFX4ZtDuzg9uff9dtUswgVteIDUOki6AdmN0mDHP0kn4Tlt5J6ZHEbWoqr_uo37rEdp2rnXYEgG4zcI/s320/SDC11138.JPG" width="320" /></a> As they were busy at work both working together and bickering I thought of how Ava would have just gotten home not long before if she was in 'away' (public or private) school instead of homeschooled. We would not have snuggled and read together, we would not have dyed eggs together, the kids would not have built a fort together, and a long list of other things I really feel we would have all missed out on. I thankful for the stories we are making now that someday we can talk about and I can tell my grandkids. I feel so blessed to have this family the God has created!</div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-54575719595880840752012-01-06T23:24:00.000-07:002012-01-06T23:24:32.342-07:00Homeschooling check up...& you deserve a prizeI get the question "how's homeschooling going?" a lot since we started 'officially' homeschooling Ava this year. Its a hard and complex question to answer. I'm sure I could write a novel. It would probably be a boring rambling novel, but a novel none the less. Still, I usually answer, "oh, good". But I have been meaning to write down some of my thoughts. So here it goes. It might be a little messy, since its messy in my head and I have no clear order on how this post is going to go.<br />
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1. Its hard.Kind of. But totally. In a good and bad way. The whole curriculum and school part is not necessarily hard. I really enjoy it myself. I could sit down at the table and do it myself and love it! So why is it hard:<br />
A. Ava loves it the majority of the time, but she did have some growing pains in the beginning getting use to doing a little more school work than she did before. And it wasn't coloring rainbows in the correct order or matching shapes anymore because educationally she is way beyond that, but her smarts don't exactly meet up with her maturity level, so finding the right balance between her actually learning and her maturity level took a little bit of time because this stuff, this schedule was new to her...and to me!<br />
B. There were points of burn out, but they were also the points I found myself growing the most when I stopped to evaluate the situation. If I'm not in the Bible, prayer, etc, if I don't have some time to myself during the week, and sometime in fellowship (especially women's Bible study), I burn out. Homeschooling or not. Moving to a new place made these things a little harder, but they are getting easier and better. Thank God! (literally!) I have learned more about myself(... than I've ever wanted to. : ) ok maybe a little overstated.) Maybe the biggest burn out point is expecting too much of Ava and myself. I can think I've failed if I didn't check everything off or if I did not schedule my day at all how I feel I should schedule it. Or my attitude goes south. GRACE.<br />
C. I'm still learning this one.... I'm trying to find the right rhythm to our day and that takes grace, time, discipline, and prayer. phew. Asa is the biggest factor because I want him to be apart of it. He loves being apart of schoolwork and having his own age appropriate activities to do. This part that was really hard is also becoming one of the best parts.<br />
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wow. well I guess I messed up my numbering system because that covered all the tough stuff. So I guess I'll move on too number 2...the good stuff. I did always choose to save the best news for last.<br />
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2. It's good. On so many levels. So what have I loved about this year...Just today I realized I would have not seen Ava until 3:00pm everyday since August. That it a good majority of our day. CRAZY. So first off, I love getting to see her, spend time with her, hear her thoughts and concerns. There is so much our family wouldn't get to experience together if Ava was at school most the day. So what do I love about it. Sheesh. a lot.:<br />
A. Relationships. Some could and do argue that homeschooling does not give children an opportunity to socialize with peers. I have to admit that there are times when I almost feel guilty that Ava it not socializing with friends her age more often. (yes, we are involved in a homeschooling group, church, American Heritage Girls, etc.) Then I see her sitting next to her brother as they laugh and talk together while doing schoolwork or drawing a billion pictures a day. She talks to him so clearly and plainly and lovingly. I think I might just say she has a natural teaching gift. And whats more, I would have never guessed they would be so close. I heard a lady speaking on homeschooling recently (I have to share the link sometime!) talking about everything on organizing, training, to socializing. She commented that our society puts a lot of emphasis on peer socialization and while its not a bad thing in the least, there are more important areas of socialization. The chances are slim that our children will be only socializing with their 'peers' after they graduate in the real world, but what was more powerful was when she ask who would you call if you found out your mom had cancer. It probably won't be your friend in 4th grade who you sat next to you in math class. <b>While a classroom usually mimics real life, home is real life and learning to deal with and love brothers and sisters is a real as it gets. Seeing the two of them interaction is one of the best parts of my day. </b>If Ava goes somewhere without him, he constantly asks, "where's Aya?" looking forlornly. I also don't know if Asa would have learned so much without her around. His "Why" stage is in FULL swing. And believe me, he wants a good explanation to every "why" asked.<br />
B. Curriculum. Ok, so I was very hesitant to homeschool because I hate text books with a passion. serious PASSION. seriously. My sisters talk about how they love the smell of old text books. I'm sure they would wear text book cologne if I could find some. The smell makes me nauseous. I look in a text book and I feel dizzy. I'm so visual, but text books look messy and ugly, I have a serious text book phobia or something. Ava is only in kindergarten so why should I worry about this. I had a gripping fear that if I started it, then I couldn't get out of homeschooling for the rest of my life and what if she is crazy smart and flies through texts books so I'm looking at texts books all day. I could start having nightmares of creepy textbook monsters chasing me or something. If I could only show you the pictures in my head. Its a little ridiculous. Sorry for the incomplete sentences and bad grammar. You will be happy to know that I did not write Ava's curriculum and I don't have to smell or see ugly texts books because her AMAZING curriculum is nearly text book free. I know, I know, if you haven't heard of <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/">Sonlight</a> its hard to believe there is a curriculum that can cover everything and be text book free. And I know this post just keeps getting longer and longer. Adam is next to me snoring and I can write a lot, late at night, so you might want to give up reading the rest of this now. On the other hand if you have gotten this far you are probably in too deep and now there's not looking back. Anyways, her curriculum is filled with "Living" book...like real books people LIKE to read. We started off with the Boxcar Children for her read-aloud and she was hooked. It was magical or something. <b>One of my favorite memories will probably be reading the Boxcar Children to her.</b> <b>She almost cried and didn't want me to read the last chapter because it meant it would be over! SO SWEET! </b>But I reassured her that there is a WHOLE series. The curriculum not only ROCKS when it comes to creating a love of learning, but she has learned a boat load and it is so flexible that it can be simple enough for a child just starting or challenging enough for a child more advanced. <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?grade=k&tab=c">Science</a> is definitely (and not surprisingly) Ava's subject, but history is a very, very close second. Plus, its all scheduled our and really easy to follow.<br />
C. Worldview. Its really hard to teach a 5 year old a worldview if she was in school. Not to say its impossible, but it would be a lot harder. Back to the curriculum I do love that Sonlight does not shield her from the world, evils and all, but talks about a world that needs a Savior. Ava is very easily influenced when it comes to what's "cool". At 5 years old its a lot to have to sort out what's really cool or what's hurtful, what's truly meaning full in life, how should I act, etc. God made people in family for so many reasons, but ultimately to glorify Him and be apart of His forever family. Homeschooling gives us this amazing opportunity to teach her about God's worldview. We get to read and talk about the Bible, yes, but it seeps over into every subject and into our actions. <b>I've learned that homeschooling might just shape me more than its shaping my children. It might just effect my worldview all the more. </b>It really makes me prioritize our day, change our speech, and goals. An education is absolutely important, but loving God and showing others His love is even more important. I am ASTOUNDED at Ava's heart for God. I would not have known that she would comprehend so much at her age. She relates Bible stories to other Bibles stories and verse to everyday life. I feel honored to get to hear it. She bought a Bible for Asa for Christmas (same one she has and is very attached too). She teaches Ava the Bible stories from it. Love it.<br />
D. Crafts. Yep, it has its own bullet point so too speak. I'm getting better at them. In the order of the list in my head, cleaning becomes before crafts. Last, uh, semester, we didn't do a whole lot of crafts, but we are changing that. Already it has brought so much more joy to our day. We take a lot longer...Ava is not one to be rushed!!!! hm, where does she get this from. Oh, wait. I don't like to be rushed!!! So when we do a craft, we get to work....and it takes a while. But its a craft that's related to our curriculum and not only gives us an opportunity to bond (slight pun), but learn more about the material and make it stick (ok, sorry). We've made a covered wagon and a teepee this week, but we still have a parachute to make as our science experiment tomorrow...oh, not to mention she is already making Valentines and a bizillion pictures (the norm...they are so cute! I am bias).<br />
E. <b>Growth</b>...mine, I mean. In the book Sacred Parenting, Gary Thomas quotes prize-winning novelist Rachel Cusk, "As a mother you learn what it is to be both martyr and devil. In motherhood I have experienced myself as both more virtuous and more terrible, and more implicated too in the world's virtue and terror, than I would from the anonymity of childlessness have thought possible." I'm not only learning head knowledge everyday from my kindergartner's curriculum, I'm learning the heart stuff. There are times thoughts have run through my head of sending my child to school because I feel like a failure. Usually this comes at a time of discipline or a character issue. Then I think, what in the world, you are going to send you child to school so they can teach her character and how to obey her parents so you can be selfish or not feel like a failure. ok. dumb thought. that won't help. I have to stop and evaluate my own heart. I need to start the day with a date with God and know that God entrusted two children to me. With His grace, mercy, and strength, its usually a beautiful day. And if it isn't...well, those are usually the days I learn most about myself. I am seriously grateful. I have also learned that we need to get out of the house, listen to worship music, interact with adults, read, and just stop to play with my kids...and go on a date once in a while!<br />
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Ok, pretty long I know. But one last thing. To say I have a supportive husband would be an understatement. When I say supportive, it reminds me of someone standing on the sidelines cheering you on. Instead he's in the game with me. His heart for God is the drive, but his fun and loving personality are the kicker...wow... the puns. I should go to bed. I really didn't mean to do that but then couldn't help but finish it off. No, seriously, I am so thankful to have him as my partner in crime.<br />
There is a good possibility I'm going to regret posting this in the morning and I do need to add pictures. Please don't edit my grammar and please note that I did not write Ava curriculum so there is hope that she will be a good speller. If you actually read all this, you deserve a prize!<br />
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Next time you see me you may not ask how homeschooling is going. That is unless I delete this rambling post in the morning.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-47646583882604145122011-12-26T20:36:00.000-07:002011-12-26T20:45:46.279-07:00Our Family Pictures (finally)<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPJl6wey6uqG9PJWCmskDVALG_XATvqvwQfMRHdXcziBr-GsQK5H6ka6Xh_fQc4LSduiIC3LLdLBxeaxD-j1ELp134Fo9A0AG8Iys8aaD79PXG-WdO4DSklHuqlYH_wTAtQME7K0COmQ/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPJl6wey6uqG9PJWCmskDVALG_XATvqvwQfMRHdXcziBr-GsQK5H6ka6Xh_fQc4LSduiIC3LLdLBxeaxD-j1ELp134Fo9A0AG8Iys8aaD79PXG-WdO4DSklHuqlYH_wTAtQME7K0COmQ/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our family pictures....finally. We have never taken professional family pictures before. What's more is I'd be hard pressed to find one decent picture of all of us together so we were very excited when we saw our beautiful pictures taken by Rachel Clarke, a local photographer here in Wheeling. Her photography was impressive in it of itself, but she is only a junior in high school (homeschooled). She posted some of the many pics on her blog. Thank you Rachel!...view her post here: </div>
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<a href="http://www.photographieisfeliciteblog.com/2011/12/wheeling-west-virginia-family_26.html?spref=bl">Photographie is Felicite: Wheeling, West Virginia Family Photography | The M...</a>: Hey everybody! I hope your Christmas was wonderful in every way. :) And nooooow... Meet the Mick's. (Isn't that fun to say?) This Past...Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-16921974913843942392011-08-19T17:33:00.002-07:002011-08-19T17:33:38.836-07:00All About Ava: then & now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtB-dUU6ZS-EPOA8I3-mIF6S-74eVQqjo3RYGuKZODpqjXfC6OP6mnVeAFBsdhsoxEhXo0Xm5J5Z7dBKhRMHJbFCbtuNEvy_sQkWenHG9da626prWocfVqN_NaccquykpdbHQltryAH0U/s1600/DSCF2847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtB-dUU6ZS-EPOA8I3-mIF6S-74eVQqjo3RYGuKZODpqjXfC6OP6mnVeAFBsdhsoxEhXo0Xm5J5Z7dBKhRMHJbFCbtuNEvy_sQkWenHG9da626prWocfVqN_NaccquykpdbHQltryAH0U/s320/DSCF2847.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><b><u>Oct 2010</u></b><br />
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</b><br />
Favorites:<br />
Fav Color: Orange<br />
Shape:square<br />
Dinosaur: pterodactyl <br />
Movie: Toy Story<br />
Animal: Zebra<br />
Flower: Dandelion & Sunflower<br />
TV show: Cat in the Hat<br />
Sport: walking around to find Rainbows<br />
fun things: buying shirt with skateboard @ Ross, Christmas (excited about Asa's airplane)<br />
Place: swapmeet<br />
Music: Uptown CD<br />
Favorite brother: Asa<br />
Song: ABC's (Asa's favorite too) and twinkle, twinkle<br />
Food: macaroni<br />
Dessert: little ice creams<br />
drink: capri suns<br />
book: ABC<br />
Toy: Woody<br />
Stuffed Animal: Dounut (cat)<br />
School SUbject: shapes<br />
Word: CAT<br />
Bible character: God<br />
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<b><u>Now Aug 2011</u></b><br />
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Fav color: Black<br />
Dinosaur: pterodactyl <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFS0WvGWc86zxRET2BfnjR_3F7BOSqHYiiQwaQaTojg62kbelXAM_BLnz2wBf_B9d4i-xQeGXQXIq0EGYNfeEM1K-F8XrgAkBVdLBtSuQP6-gLX-fqPFoqaRPQJR_5munKBEvP4IRmrU/s1600/DSCN1067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFS0WvGWc86zxRET2BfnjR_3F7BOSqHYiiQwaQaTojg62kbelXAM_BLnz2wBf_B9d4i-xQeGXQXIq0EGYNfeEM1K-F8XrgAkBVdLBtSuQP6-gLX-fqPFoqaRPQJR_5munKBEvP4IRmrU/s320/DSCN1067.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After Ava cut her and her brother's hair! (can't see full effect)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Movie: Wild Kratts<br />
Shape: square and diamond<br />
animal: zebra, giraffe, Tasmanian devil, cheetah<br />
Flower: roses<br />
TV show: Wild Kratts<br />
Sport: Soccer<br />
Fun things: run like cheetah, jump like kangaroo<br />
place: church, Bob Evan, and park<br />
Music: Cov kids' music<br />
Brother: Asa<br />
Song: Cha, cha, cha Fiesta from VBS<br />
Food: macaroni and canned pears<br />
Dessert: strawberry sunday<br />
Drink: strawberry tea<br />
Book: her books about animals and a book about cowboys<br />
Toy: ?<br />
Stuffed Animal: Big dog & Grrr<br />
School subject: everything!<br />
Favorite word: rockstar<br />
Bible character: Jordan river : )<br />
Bible Verse: Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid...<br />
Bible story: all of them, Wedding story (Jesus' first miracle, water into wine)Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-18528561301627049822011-06-10T04:57:00.000-07:002011-06-10T04:57:15.303-07:00The Big Two!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTc_ftQmcxiGe-RxJhjp3udLG5IHGV7sPkfnUvIL1A-TV1i_oD9O7tY9rDIFrAIDzoAYzP9ar5DAcrIHJ4g7JxDKsgUTtZ3tTiU9AToYvaNfBXc8imFVP_glmskbP1h4xaBOgygl2lYQ/s1600/102_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTc_ftQmcxiGe-RxJhjp3udLG5IHGV7sPkfnUvIL1A-TV1i_oD9O7tY9rDIFrAIDzoAYzP9ar5DAcrIHJ4g7JxDKsgUTtZ3tTiU9AToYvaNfBXc8imFVP_glmskbP1h4xaBOgygl2lYQ/s320/102_0505.JPG" width="240" /></a>So...little behind...as always, but Asa turned 2 on May 18th! And he has certainly grown into his whole two years of age, going from the struggle of realizing his new independence to FULLY embarrassing it! On the morning of his birthday, I found him drinking from the almond milk carton in the living room, all smiles, saying, "mmm. mmm!" What a way to start off his two year old year. There seems to be something funny and terrible everyday, being covered in paint or making the bathroom sink overflow, finding all kinds of new things to climb, oh I missing funny one's I know it!!! the list goes on...and I watch the boy constantly!..well, except the the occasional bathroom break and coffee refill...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4NPMc3o0tZu2vL7Ts9CSmI2Y7vGUtwXiMNYRalTUoVUV5Bop3LwMNe_yeDV5U6mD-OTIPlrX-2VcRIgnicJSUhdjZP21_b_nSyW2FjpXn-TMjzdxsE9B8hY9IPqQ7nW-8N7prZbr25g/s1600/102_0507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4NPMc3o0tZu2vL7Ts9CSmI2Y7vGUtwXiMNYRalTUoVUV5Bop3LwMNe_yeDV5U6mD-OTIPlrX-2VcRIgnicJSUhdjZP21_b_nSyW2FjpXn-TMjzdxsE9B8hY9IPqQ7nW-8N7prZbr25g/s400/102_0507.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCof8dIslxYxpIdDwcl5BqxbbwW_JJd7XUqpQ4dKJgqJNzlDvsNHNDhcfaUg0uXHNyTo7Gqm7LKOVbI1fBsBYm5ZhYZSNu_Rxwr7jGl-ie4sDj0sXSmU3BUFmFxoM4T6K8_IvGsRxptw/s1600/102_0506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCof8dIslxYxpIdDwcl5BqxbbwW_JJd7XUqpQ4dKJgqJNzlDvsNHNDhcfaUg0uXHNyTo7Gqm7LKOVbI1fBsBYm5ZhYZSNu_Rxwr7jGl-ie4sDj0sXSmU3BUFmFxoM4T6K8_IvGsRxptw/s400/102_0506.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYq69ohxp7-y5X2xCMCYlxmKw1to5N-Gd6GbYvmBLB9ODXBQyPqOm5K_tuOkpFieisYiSn4QnfMI_jdAJQflkJZNVXOEsijiov9rFW1paYcwWdoMdXNLRsttxvVWkbB9OITmGIJvgIgGI/s1600/102_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYq69ohxp7-y5X2xCMCYlxmKw1to5N-Gd6GbYvmBLB9ODXBQyPqOm5K_tuOkpFieisYiSn4QnfMI_jdAJQflkJZNVXOEsijiov9rFW1paYcwWdoMdXNLRsttxvVWkbB9OITmGIJvgIgGI/s400/102_0516.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPl1BsNY-5myQvuWLLbrYNTXUt-QHQgtBAboDkeIi9Z_8C8Mw-KfjK8h0iC-y4y1Scs_VnIWBWju4IIpCgHJRsf0SDgGoROH81Iu-_mLavbPVAbe6AYXcE_D9z8EYcklUlH2pIfqU7LI/s1600/102_0487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPl1BsNY-5myQvuWLLbrYNTXUt-QHQgtBAboDkeIi9Z_8C8Mw-KfjK8h0iC-y4y1Scs_VnIWBWju4IIpCgHJRsf0SDgGoROH81Iu-_mLavbPVAbe6AYXcE_D9z8EYcklUlH2pIfqU7LI/s400/102_0487.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8RVm1QRVaUXomnPYWPZGtXAlY7Zmun_sWFopdFKog_pVheUarDsuyEWOVNDc5F3epl-qa99l-kkZxeRg-yrbV5AHp9D1UZiF_K308PECgXJLI7UD4lgW1qHG6etjRod6jCEWg1XYCY0/s1600/102_0490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8RVm1QRVaUXomnPYWPZGtXAlY7Zmun_sWFopdFKog_pVheUarDsuyEWOVNDc5F3epl-qa99l-kkZxeRg-yrbV5AHp9D1UZiF_K308PECgXJLI7UD4lgW1qHG6etjRod6jCEWg1XYCY0/s400/102_0490.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ53TlLzW2A0ZCHC-oLzD4begIyQ4olc6gNhn8YYaNRv3-nPB_vtYgzvgvuQt9UPYee-R233GX3Zdc-Wfi9pRF5KAtSOTiCgNiiEdKeBYqDrktyzPCgNMkZfmNHUHsaqeuRPUKHFn0KKA/s1600/102_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ53TlLzW2A0ZCHC-oLzD4begIyQ4olc6gNhn8YYaNRv3-nPB_vtYgzvgvuQt9UPYee-R233GX3Zdc-Wfi9pRF5KAtSOTiCgNiiEdKeBYqDrktyzPCgNMkZfmNHUHsaqeuRPUKHFn0KKA/s400/102_0499.JPG" width="400" /></a>His birthday was so fun and totally unplanned...sorry...but don't tell him, he did not notice at all! my mother and father-in-law drove up from Charleston to help us finish moving in and have a bbq at Wheeling park with my sis, nephews, and niece. Asa LOVED the Schrader Environmental center at the park...and its free! He loved the puppet stage and coloring and all the buttons to explore in the kids room, but he ADORED the snakes and creepy crawly things! I didn't even know of his love for reptiles!!! ..uh, or they amphibians or something. You'd have to ask my daughter. We finished off with cake. always a favorite of my sweet-toothed son.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Happy Birthday Asa!!!</span></b></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-13370233286088506912011-06-07T06:41:00.000-07:002011-06-07T06:41:38.450-07:00Asa: 1st year in review...sniff...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy...uh...late, late 2nd birthday Asa!!!...since I can't find my camera (though I do have birthday pictures on my sister's camera) here are some pictures of Asa's first year! Nothing like a child's birthday to make you get all teary-eyed! Second year coming soon!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhc_GIsSqmlKsoPMQeN2Ced_N8j8_jK5Qk2E_l54Sh6Pe0FW8eSqz4msNi458U8egqw5I-Uxtg4O09XATq3HeTjURgqABTHYNkixYjO94RH4BdKAJsScQOxV-AdIAhGJla9DgJXLTK7HM/s1600/100_1283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhc_GIsSqmlKsoPMQeN2Ced_N8j8_jK5Qk2E_l54Sh6Pe0FW8eSqz4msNi458U8egqw5I-Uxtg4O09XATq3HeTjURgqABTHYNkixYjO94RH4BdKAJsScQOxV-AdIAhGJla9DgJXLTK7HM/s320/100_1283.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXc6FGzeUcea5vHkBcdEqsSh-Ak15RB2mYaGdLI4Lj9KJncSIGhGulIfwsbpnUSdozV2Zg2m_Mft345AI9UwbH4tiR_V-AipMeRovoEjO4VDELcE40J0dd-DL8NrGQwVifYA61MYOWPQQ/s1600/P7010208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXc6FGzeUcea5vHkBcdEqsSh-Ak15RB2mYaGdLI4Lj9KJncSIGhGulIfwsbpnUSdozV2Zg2m_Mft345AI9UwbH4tiR_V-AipMeRovoEjO4VDELcE40J0dd-DL8NrGQwVifYA61MYOWPQQ/s320/P7010208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndLN6pv92vH9qBtOaYI0SLEefV78Gfws8c7nkg_UZxGvOyaLi8uDKJqJrCOzH0c5jmnzohE9ifz5UvIVbeSgkoVC3WLPjg6rNdohjafOxQHFUKJ8912YB4_4MVvE2eDxvAjvH9JEWyOw/s1600/DSCF2119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndLN6pv92vH9qBtOaYI0SLEefV78Gfws8c7nkg_UZxGvOyaLi8uDKJqJrCOzH0c5jmnzohE9ifz5UvIVbeSgkoVC3WLPjg6rNdohjafOxQHFUKJ8912YB4_4MVvE2eDxvAjvH9JEWyOw/s320/DSCF2119.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-62380247861014921102011-03-05T10:24:00.004-07:002011-03-05T10:49:23.288-07:00Come out of the Cave<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eNdcYEEBSd7oXsQPU30ZHamHIvFRHWLi2sqXXkmQGKGF_uDliLEeCXgP67jSaKdBoj_7CN-W27FY-KQYvu_kvBuQzX40Ku04HKpBopWIMwc-9bAxtTZlhAFINtdKWZMDaKn7z4nnqmA/s1600/cave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eNdcYEEBSd7oXsQPU30ZHamHIvFRHWLi2sqXXkmQGKGF_uDliLEeCXgP67jSaKdBoj_7CN-W27FY-KQYvu_kvBuQzX40Ku04HKpBopWIMwc-9bAxtTZlhAFINtdKWZMDaKn7z4nnqmA/s320/cave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilspicys/2349782556/">Photo credits</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The other day I read a question: "What was the date of the Civil War?" .....uh...uh.....[insert crickets chirping] Ok, ok, I admit I don't remember a lot from school. I figure I will get a 2nd and 3rd chance when my kids go to school. Right? I do remember literature more than dates as it turns out...though still kind of rusty. When I heard the song, The Cave by Mumford and Sons, I heard hints of the cave analogy by Aristotle...again, please don't critique my intelligence...but Aristotle asked if we are in a cave simply seeing shadows casted upon a wall of the real thing or maybe the object casting the shadows were just copies of the real things themselves. I think their is something intrinsic that knows we were created for more. Created to serve a Creator. Created for more that's intended in this world we see.</span></span>In God's Kingdom in heaven there are things that we have only had a glimpse of. I've been hearing the words "Life Saving Gospel" swirling around in my head. "Life Saving!" True Life. Something more real than our own heart beat. It's pretty exciting really, until I think about how God commanded us to GO preach the gospel to the ends of the earth...then I get a little more timid. I don't even know where to begin honestly. Anyways, getting back to this song...I think its pretty amazing...especially the line about coming out of the cave Walking on Your Hands...the idea of God's Upside Down Kingdom...its opposite of what the world deems "logical"...and what we so often deem as logical. The last shall be first. We are meant to glorify God, not ourselves. We were meant to give, pour out ourselves, not gain. Dye to ourselves only to TRULY live. Become a Servant as Christ and then you will find Freedom. All sound like one big oxymoron, but couldn't be more truthful. I think that's pretty amazing. As for the American Civil War? 1861-1865. I heart Wikipedia.<br />
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</span></span></div></div></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-32839929432951525022011-03-02T23:46:00.000-07:002011-03-02T23:46:40.431-07:00A walk in the park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmjfmLxvVMfrYCdcFN6L5ms5anHY6r9wNLoHgrE66p_JRq2y914lH3vlLruFMISYoiU8Yn9zw0jeutYxcf2cTiGYkO5K7Kd0eQlmmgaZ9oMnT2X024An4GhMe9MJeN9JvlRFktWZEDXQ/s1600/DSCF7179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmjfmLxvVMfrYCdcFN6L5ms5anHY6r9wNLoHgrE66p_JRq2y914lH3vlLruFMISYoiU8Yn9zw0jeutYxcf2cTiGYkO5K7Kd0eQlmmgaZ9oMnT2X024An4GhMe9MJeN9JvlRFktWZEDXQ/s400/DSCF7179.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2sgR4GJHkkb8xGTqgBwcA8pd-QXxmei9Bts88Ld5T8eMwxMnzSO4yOmq7Qu8JqUfGieDQpXsaW0z7N-xr6VXnCZPTSCvk5Ejyzo7Stz2vyQFAlvGYjgnwyfpcGK85S8P_anaqeWBzjQ/s1600/DSCF7099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1BvcC5YLytiDXztsK-2JaZVVX1hWyINCibxD4am2kL8efGYEvbW-YKbwFEq8R3SV1mYL5BR-d7l-Jw7C_jIJKYlGSSnIipMeyHz9OV8M_6ejq-hxp1F_s7uVLajyv0ad6XP9nwpn27U/s1600/DSCF7137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1BvcC5YLytiDXztsK-2JaZVVX1hWyINCibxD4am2kL8efGYEvbW-YKbwFEq8R3SV1mYL5BR-d7l-Jw7C_jIJKYlGSSnIipMeyHz9OV8M_6ejq-hxp1F_s7uVLajyv0ad6XP9nwpn27U/s320/DSCF7137.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of Ava's favs...."the bouncy things"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxB2fmdM24PSzD-l8bOahyU_Sv0ooc2fjBbcyixLvuLu9uQXidhmY_v_Mct1H-JhxCi55JpeJfkzX2_CfjByWgV0XSc7YkH6U04SkcQKaX4AWHeABYFk3Pe3BOH2RCHinPRbTcen5-Do/s1600/DSCF7140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxB2fmdM24PSzD-l8bOahyU_Sv0ooc2fjBbcyixLvuLu9uQXidhmY_v_Mct1H-JhxCi55JpeJfkzX2_CfjByWgV0XSc7YkH6U04SkcQKaX4AWHeABYFk3Pe3BOH2RCHinPRbTcen5-Do/s320/DSCF7140.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgti2Cd127spz82CT33bz9wLdsxk6jEIMcbeHV6I_nHvmNcT5F067AMMPkVV6HxdEGmb5lBI4uv3lu0T3Td6Tp96lGGXDIKOz5DvigiKWjP0n5xRh6hxxXtqfX78Imjtb1QMBvdrQWrw00/s1600/DSCF7141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgti2Cd127spz82CT33bz9wLdsxk6jEIMcbeHV6I_nHvmNcT5F067AMMPkVV6HxdEGmb5lBI4uv3lu0T3Td6Tp96lGGXDIKOz5DvigiKWjP0n5xRh6hxxXtqfX78Imjtb1QMBvdrQWrw00/s320/DSCF7141.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3MR8kndkpS4pO2lEgBd-qI3UPf4HfpOJeyoGv2WLJQRG7uIOxtG1HlibDzkiKQuPHhxkxIfoNZRaWD1Rrl-GCQ6lZT82TeKguGa1IHuYBF8DwoNZhmVuw5f-wAw4ank4S3OeacrkQck/s1600/DSCF7144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3MR8kndkpS4pO2lEgBd-qI3UPf4HfpOJeyoGv2WLJQRG7uIOxtG1HlibDzkiKQuPHhxkxIfoNZRaWD1Rrl-GCQ6lZT82TeKguGa1IHuYBF8DwoNZhmVuw5f-wAw4ank4S3OeacrkQck/s320/DSCF7144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFigPqTkbCIFybLRgcmxvFPp5tAL7nNo7RWPHOR10kwOktrGuW-V-xrgUE8DTu_mS-UzmSx0O3S3RPVRveIHIiGPYKm04aUvsfqdwmzUvfNf_kiVs5Nc7mtYsmkqVGFjsKxcq_tNNK5p8/s1600/DSCF7154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFigPqTkbCIFybLRgcmxvFPp5tAL7nNo7RWPHOR10kwOktrGuW-V-xrgUE8DTu_mS-UzmSx0O3S3RPVRveIHIiGPYKm04aUvsfqdwmzUvfNf_kiVs5Nc7mtYsmkqVGFjsKxcq_tNNK5p8/s320/DSCF7154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NCCT7Eh1UPu3aNNqmSbV976FzdOjTVBCTkwE7UCo4txOvlJxJSAruNM61Gplukcu1kA6vimMf9rmbSa9VpgbjPcDyrIL9QK10RDBSkC0_kZTXMdv3i9fGPNwGBJDFh1JzOo7_HPM90U/s1600/DSCF7159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NCCT7Eh1UPu3aNNqmSbV976FzdOjTVBCTkwE7UCo4txOvlJxJSAruNM61Gplukcu1kA6vimMf9rmbSa9VpgbjPcDyrIL9QK10RDBSkC0_kZTXMdv3i9fGPNwGBJDFh1JzOo7_HPM90U/s320/DSCF7159.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41tvB8pzci727CWyU63xBdpPFpPvK3OacwUMjYn89X_93cwgTBOYwWykYWdhJzvVYLgiEGspd3Zp1-evGKAf9Xhtjk_rw_wqwA7dDUI_ucqs3yH_rsCSEfypabOG5O77xqb4mNbapABA/s1600/DSCF7163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41tvB8pzci727CWyU63xBdpPFpPvK3OacwUMjYn89X_93cwgTBOYwWykYWdhJzvVYLgiEGspd3Zp1-evGKAf9Xhtjk_rw_wqwA7dDUI_ucqs3yH_rsCSEfypabOG5O77xqb4mNbapABA/s320/DSCF7163.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiYWw206V3b0FxI_dKRgdkkQ7RtOlfQunHns91lj2sBUvyR4C9T0ivVybSAmYxjSALQyoMHvakqnOANdgKa5x1bVyhmfCpZ-_Oyc7Y-gNpaLEhMkDHJfq8rTMittcZX6Pt79T25dcC6Y/s1600/DSCF7170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiYWw206V3b0FxI_dKRgdkkQ7RtOlfQunHns91lj2sBUvyR4C9T0ivVybSAmYxjSALQyoMHvakqnOANdgKa5x1bVyhmfCpZ-_Oyc7Y-gNpaLEhMkDHJfq8rTMittcZX6Pt79T25dcC6Y/s320/DSCF7170.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5Spi50u_TFsBx4cOcEBzrolcwAqxJCwCaquBpbYWwY8eYyMqA1T9zPFhOYFzKLFz3J9-PYSsCdwrDTXFcL5-m1NT3ArFNgSoevvDauqQFvUcqEmiYF5aDNqDikEieBCZBMso1uPNqfk/s1600/DSCF7173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5Spi50u_TFsBx4cOcEBzrolcwAqxJCwCaquBpbYWwY8eYyMqA1T9zPFhOYFzKLFz3J9-PYSsCdwrDTXFcL5-m1NT3ArFNgSoevvDauqQFvUcqEmiYF5aDNqDikEieBCZBMso1uPNqfk/s400/DSCF7173.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3orqZehmIZ6J_beIexMXU4Mcy8GHi-Ax6kmty5LNdeb_BLroQP0MAaXB62JQC1aDmWLGgWViSbJNwQr0wIpQ-StDCLP5XvINkZVCa5rK_3DTUGYsqBdnQkzThIPkLHJ89O0L7RRjEoWA/s1600/DSCF7176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3orqZehmIZ6J_beIexMXU4Mcy8GHi-Ax6kmty5LNdeb_BLroQP0MAaXB62JQC1aDmWLGgWViSbJNwQr0wIpQ-StDCLP5XvINkZVCa5rK_3DTUGYsqBdnQkzThIPkLHJ89O0L7RRjEoWA/s320/DSCF7176.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">noth'n wrong with being a tree hugger</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-38972581904168222372011-03-02T20:59:00.000-07:002011-03-02T20:59:13.720-07:00I should be cleaning...I wish I had a fancy, shmancy camera...because pictures make me so happy. Here are a few cute ones from today...oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Adam (even though I didn't get any pictures of you!) and my sis, Kate...and Dr. Seuss.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5la7HMWWfL9U89K_G33XITjj4AeDm91kO_lh24e67bXpC4TrfkGyHMcnuot_pGq4TBvZgm4d_6LEBhHw6Ty7XsN36kpOx1EgAvatyDk-t2Qi2bom65Byng4QGnuCmikvcGb8ksLHlEg/s1600/DSCF7372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5la7HMWWfL9U89K_G33XITjj4AeDm91kO_lh24e67bXpC4TrfkGyHMcnuot_pGq4TBvZgm4d_6LEBhHw6Ty7XsN36kpOx1EgAvatyDk-t2Qi2bom65Byng4QGnuCmikvcGb8ksLHlEg/s320/DSCF7372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtIOvha9l0zAGoYSJHFlM3oWE4ZQAMfckD8hPwc5yActWkY09sZwYzsUzULeSjYYKWVDZVnOLZ7O6WAYI3EZRyDKoe1saItPOHB1ttB01ryy2MBZ2aNpudynpRaS3AY72SRFyKAm5_x4/s1600/DSCF7352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtIOvha9l0zAGoYSJHFlM3oWE4ZQAMfckD8hPwc5yActWkY09sZwYzsUzULeSjYYKWVDZVnOLZ7O6WAYI3EZRyDKoe1saItPOHB1ttB01ryy2MBZ2aNpudynpRaS3AY72SRFyKAm5_x4/s320/DSCF7352.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asa loves his "dog shoes"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrm4IRaEEUGXipyKcFFOUX83iGqivMZyOM2gik2sgawGjmynIWr2RvP_uUo5eL3t02RR2a2tBM2g5Bz7jPTD-6Lc025b_MiDQdOYVXrMKpSb3PvHuijonu8LYxCqIhQjemgxUcZtwh5s/s1600/DSCF7375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrm4IRaEEUGXipyKcFFOUX83iGqivMZyOM2gik2sgawGjmynIWr2RvP_uUo5eL3t02RR2a2tBM2g5Bz7jPTD-6Lc025b_MiDQdOYVXrMKpSb3PvHuijonu8LYxCqIhQjemgxUcZtwh5s/s320/DSCF7375.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asa's digging spot he is very proud of and shows me his progress everyday!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lo-J3fAzTdCK5Zyj963zH0LRuRhyphenhyphenq9h14Qy3gV3lSsjebrUS_VMLBrjUfXZXoxQel0sLHjK9GTkZl_2WSFrMeDqtnaDJl97z-c7tjV7_C1bAm4Go0sOJ-DhutXB50Wo5PUNqlEPaFaY/s1600/DSCF7384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lo-J3fAzTdCK5Zyj963zH0LRuRhyphenhyphenq9h14Qy3gV3lSsjebrUS_VMLBrjUfXZXoxQel0sLHjK9GTkZl_2WSFrMeDqtnaDJl97z-c7tjV7_C1bAm4Go0sOJ-DhutXB50Wo5PUNqlEPaFaY/s320/DSCF7384.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFPE-sp5zIe5u9wlUlNVLrUb0i3KV4D69Oo6VdbKu0AnbnoIYnjj4pVJNeG727pjGxGUwRYjQyEn71soc8Vhm9Itzez2Avg9OpQ_3wqCeNhgShQXdYsNPtbuDOD4flS2B8jovdAkxWiA/s1600/DSCF7398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFPE-sp5zIe5u9wlUlNVLrUb0i3KV4D69Oo6VdbKu0AnbnoIYnjj4pVJNeG727pjGxGUwRYjQyEn71soc8Vhm9Itzez2Avg9OpQ_3wqCeNhgShQXdYsNPtbuDOD4flS2B8jovdAkxWiA/s320/DSCF7398.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">allergy eyes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSvouRD85XaOBUuA0sw9dpxYzjB43lQoyBOjhmIDefzw7OVScxQDE9PboI0Un_Eyrlbh_gxClGNkVqhvUq7i2YdlsM7DN4gp54bEYfd1HsOqRWsWNLI96xc8ppPKinXfBUzULRU3XcqU/s1600/DSCF7406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSvouRD85XaOBUuA0sw9dpxYzjB43lQoyBOjhmIDefzw7OVScxQDE9PboI0Un_Eyrlbh_gxClGNkVqhvUq7i2YdlsM7DN4gp54bEYfd1HsOqRWsWNLI96xc8ppPKinXfBUzULRU3XcqU/s320/DSCF7406.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">strangely his favorite digging tool</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3m-NVCS6xY5ls2e0jt70leqpH9jUYZNR1Jswzezv-nBwPCXO_NzBkDDvXeJxnxSEUdAI_LLXAZJIs9j2zgfCCyo3Q7JAhGqGYNqnX3e9vEF8FjH6nWAAfOyHpFvZtWp_6PdDhFlHWdc/s1600/DSCF7407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3m-NVCS6xY5ls2e0jt70leqpH9jUYZNR1Jswzezv-nBwPCXO_NzBkDDvXeJxnxSEUdAI_LLXAZJIs9j2zgfCCyo3Q7JAhGqGYNqnX3e9vEF8FjH6nWAAfOyHpFvZtWp_6PdDhFlHWdc/s320/DSCF7407.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asa's "Cheese" face</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbqtIi089CkvZHggGI3dHTp9jJ1FtK92ltJaEOGY-2WKKxJ2VIGpPaofOTr9grZVsOPuENDOQSzDu-nrCYixGxoTDp0KuJT0E8NoObIoTctV2aWiyI18Ov3zfo_rGp1jsaoDSe3d2o-E/s1600/DSCF7429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbqtIi089CkvZHggGI3dHTp9jJ1FtK92ltJaEOGY-2WKKxJ2VIGpPaofOTr9grZVsOPuENDOQSzDu-nrCYixGxoTDp0KuJT0E8NoObIoTctV2aWiyI18Ov3zfo_rGp1jsaoDSe3d2o-E/s320/DSCF7429.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">best buds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5Hgl_2OPa6lmA9166j7-Me-V5tjVneWMCCJ8c_8kM7BLf72suX10zBZFpbFu3CyPaq0bIQQFBVejILAU-hqEqT2ubPvOQLRJHJ_d-vj_iBf-5OupXs33w5VXu7TjHjEdd69X-cBnyCY/s1600/DSCF7433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5Hgl_2OPa6lmA9166j7-Me-V5tjVneWMCCJ8c_8kM7BLf72suX10zBZFpbFu3CyPaq0bIQQFBVejILAU-hqEqT2ubPvOQLRJHJ_d-vj_iBf-5OupXs33w5VXu7TjHjEdd69X-cBnyCY/s320/DSCF7433.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mommy: "Ava just have a relaxed face" Ava: "Ok, mommy"...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQiU_kOCBN10u3zpKx5qiaeEa4dQtrjctE0FW4zn__0wdiO96nJnwN2IU_f763ipFcE9Toq2qGw78z5dFc0-ez1YyE2rihyI4TAaj4jXIwlxQdEghMUz9mUhtKszGVDLO-VNuXSr1j5I/s1600/DSCF7447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQiU_kOCBN10u3zpKx5qiaeEa4dQtrjctE0FW4zn__0wdiO96nJnwN2IU_f763ipFcE9Toq2qGw78z5dFc0-ez1YyE2rihyI4TAaj4jXIwlxQdEghMUz9mUhtKszGVDLO-VNuXSr1j5I/s320/DSCF7447.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of the many crafts for daddy's birthday</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDu12m1aF9C_3KPTUhyphenhyphenm6mxeHWyPW7rqsazpjQzqFPmxAa_Nwvk73hlPd3kmMflLAGwRR17CeLf1LNVFuCxJNo32VNt3sFfJEdJHX3iIPuETSfjeKxZM57xK7YNSa0YDJ9XQkcM1TCh7o/s1600/DSCF7526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDu12m1aF9C_3KPTUhyphenhyphenm6mxeHWyPW7rqsazpjQzqFPmxAa_Nwvk73hlPd3kmMflLAGwRR17CeLf1LNVFuCxJNo32VNt3sFfJEdJHX3iIPuETSfjeKxZM57xK7YNSa0YDJ9XQkcM1TCh7o/s320/DSCF7526.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-57875292671249840522011-03-01T07:59:00.001-07:002011-03-01T07:59:11.255-07:00Organize Your Stuff: JOYS on Homestead Revival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7gvBg2B6DUSoNW0TnFsWU2p8YjB3dBScHsf-vENX5Fa8Hgpj6jo5vsP1eemz3S4jPzV_M9HGZLIKFrhFCOQsRv_xTwkU7MpBJz7FeTXy2BxGfkPC_ncchKwsYurxNUu7hnacw8n5vfs/s1600/JOYS+filing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7gvBg2B6DUSoNW0TnFsWU2p8YjB3dBScHsf-vENX5Fa8Hgpj6jo5vsP1eemz3S4jPzV_M9HGZLIKFrhFCOQsRv_xTwkU7MpBJz7FeTXy2BxGfkPC_ncchKwsYurxNUu7hnacw8n5vfs/s400/JOYS+filing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Yep, another giveaway before I even post about my kids..love this one though. It's for a filing system by Organize Your Stuff...it takes a creative right-brain approach to organizing which I love! Ok, ok, sometimes I feel dumb when I'd like to use colors or pictures instead of words, but it just makes so much sense to me...the JOYS system used color in such a cool way. Anyways <a href="http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/03/give-away-joys-filing-system.html">HERE</a> is the giveaway!<br />
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Also LOVE this idea using paint cans which I found on the Organize Your Stuff site...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sTiDL_ZdvuavJNZ46Jb8Bn05AOidOUS5-NmJrfZsSKSRZx4pFpTSs9pvnpxAAi_9FdKakFIR_vfaVDhBARsP9fK3U5z630T5_XDI4FwXadiinznphN7Vai_6uZsofSLOQw_EpqextkI/s1600/paintcan+mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sTiDL_ZdvuavJNZ46Jb8Bn05AOidOUS5-NmJrfZsSKSRZx4pFpTSs9pvnpxAAi_9FdKakFIR_vfaVDhBARsP9fK3U5z630T5_XDI4FwXadiinznphN7Vai_6uZsofSLOQw_EpqextkI/s400/paintcan+mailbox.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-48478963074789752342011-02-21T10:25:00.002-07:002011-02-21T10:25:43.276-07:00Plan to Eat giveaway...yes, that's right...I'm on a giveaway streak...And you get an extra entry for blogging about it! I will eventually blog about my family that I so love...but for now I'm trying to get free stuff : ) Keeper of the Home is having another giveaway, this time for Plan to Eat, which is a great online recipe organizer and scheduler...I really like it. Here is the <a href="http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/02/giveaway-week-win-1-of-5-yearly-subscriptions-from-plan-to-eat.html#more-9413">LINK</a>.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-34234443891526547452011-02-19T23:19:00.000-07:002011-02-19T23:19:08.074-07:00Berkey Light Water Filter Giveaway @ Keeper of the HomeI have been dreaming about filtered water from a Berkey water filtation system for some time, its true. One of the blogs I follow, Keep of the Home is having giveaway week and giving away a Berkey Light...which is definitely big enough for our fam! and unlike Brita and such, the filters not only last super long, they filter out SO much more! Here's the link <a href="http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/02/giveaway-week-berkey-light-water-filtration-system-209-value.html">Keeper of the Home</a>.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-57051077459506665382011-02-18T09:51:00.000-07:002011-02-18T09:51:16.141-07:00It’s the Nutrimill GIVEAWAYI love Kitchen Stewardship where I found so many super healthy and fugal recipes...she is having a nutrimill giveaway! <a href="http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/02/18/its-the-nutrimill-giveaway/#more-9956">Check it out!</a>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-30624190348873123582010-12-24T11:44:00.000-07:002010-12-24T11:44:28.358-07:00Christmas Celebrations<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FTRaBKejL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FTRaBKejL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="320" /></a>This year we sought to find ways to celebrate Christmas that would help us and our kids focus on Christ's birth, sacrifice, hope and love for the world. So I thought I'd briefly...I mean briefly share a few ideas we have discovered.<br />
1. We will create a book list soon! We have found some amazing books I didn't know existed, but one that I love and it way too hard to get unless you can get it from your library is The 12 days of Christmas: the story behind the song. Did you know the 12 days...doesn't start until December 26th and extends to Jan 6th which was a holiday to celebrate when the 3 Kings brought gifts to Jesus. When Christians felt oppression in by the Church of England because of their religious regulations, parents would use the 12 days of Christmas song to teach their children about Jesus. Every day have a very profound meaning! "The 1st day of Christmas my True Love gave to me was a partridge and a pear tree"...My True Love is God because no one loves us more...and the partridge bird will protect her baby birds even if it means her life...Jesus and the pear tree represents the cross Christ came to bare. Seriously now, this song is amazing. My mom told me it was...but I'm a slow learner. Anyways...there is still time to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas...you can even use one branch from your Christmas tree, put it in a pot, and place little paper numbers on it each day when you read the story. The book it better, but here is a link to the story. This same author's actual book has some helpful questions so children can understand even better and great illustrations compared to this link, but still wonderful and easy to print out...<a href="http://www.annunciationakron.org/phyllisonest/pdf/12days.pdf">12 days of Christmas</a>. I'm going to print it out in case we can't rent it from the library because its out of print and going for $150 resell on amazon!!! Yeah, crazy...yet the library has it...I wonder how much they'd sell it to me!?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVEBxgEShKdkrM7K-fPU-bdqpZfMVWKgbfaOjr3yJn9sCNcAnHx5kXXUr0RyYcWUT4ub061bavOvHVuyp3tyjMwj04K5BGCqWacOGXx3veQDsxOvov8KVT4YJG-_Nli2t9nHTWCcF9mI/s1600/DSCF5011a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVEBxgEShKdkrM7K-fPU-bdqpZfMVWKgbfaOjr3yJn9sCNcAnHx5kXXUr0RyYcWUT4ub061bavOvHVuyp3tyjMwj04K5BGCqWacOGXx3veQDsxOvov8KVT4YJG-_Nli2t9nHTWCcF9mI/s320/DSCF5011a.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
2. Jesse Tree- I only found out about the Jesse tree a year ago...then my amazing sis, Kate Marshall, made me this insanely wonderful one. A Jesse tree is a unique advent calendar of sorts. Each ornament describes something about the genealogical of Jesus through the line of Jesse, while learning about the great story of God's love and all the messed up people he uses, really. It's pretty amazing. There are lots of ways to do the Jesse tree and you can sit down and read about all the ornaments at once or you can read one each day, you can find a place to print out little ornaments to color, or make your own, or buy some. Anyways, my sis' present to us it pretty amazing. Thanks, Kate!<br />
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3. Our church has also been doing this thing called Advent Conspiracy... <u>Christmas can (still) change the world </u>. I have a feeling our church will do something like it every year, as will we. They have been helping our church community focus on how we can actually share Christ's love with hungry orphans (or other's in need). Our church sought out to feed 1500 orphans in a year in an African region we support. It only costs $40 to feed an orphan their for a whole year!!!! CRAZY. It has been very convicting fo our entire church for sure. we can change a LIFE for $40. Ava even raised her own money, not $40 but a good portion of her allowance and went to donate it last week. Our church gives you a little gift box with a ribbon and tissue paper inside with a magnet you can put on your fridge to remind you that an orphan in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3e4346; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Chikudzulire, Malawi</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3e4346; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">,</span> Africa is being fed today. The gift you put under your Christmas tree to open on Christmas to remember the gift you gave. It make me cry. It also puts everything back into perspective.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYm1_AkeO4XjDN0fgoi65yQl8WXy4cy6NEfcSh1ixSC0nB7Or0UABZoe0WUVrRvHyhc-QTt5Jwsm1hZ-nznpAYMlmxoDCJ07-GODezlcn5OkBhZMo2RALa5CwkXVYFq4J57VahjLXUL04/s1600/DSCF3277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYm1_AkeO4XjDN0fgoi65yQl8WXy4cy6NEfcSh1ixSC0nB7Or0UABZoe0WUVrRvHyhc-QTt5Jwsm1hZ-nznpAYMlmxoDCJ07-GODezlcn5OkBhZMo2RALa5CwkXVYFq4J57VahjLXUL04/s320/DSCF3277.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Have a very Merry Christmas!</span></b></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-81096197751538963852010-07-31T10:41:00.000-07:002010-07-31T10:41:19.577-07:00Rain is on Ava's headAva titled this post herself. What happens when it rains in Arizona...you finally get to play outside. Ava frequently says in her cute little voice that rain is her favorite weather. A girl after my own heart. We took some pictures while playing outside under the overcast. I didn't have the card to my nicer camera or the pictures would be better quality, but still can't help but love em. I seemed to have posted all the pictures....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK87-S9WsAV99kM8uv6FKPiXSNv5TVGeKQHDXP4qdAmq6MJgKcH-q3teS7X2LqbZKLCLNBASB7Ha-ohjogBOAFAdtQnL3s5TbTHI4fmg7FdXSa9PhPR9-AtWbvrKHH8aPgis8B7Rdu84/s1600/P6050002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK87-S9WsAV99kM8uv6FKPiXSNv5TVGeKQHDXP4qdAmq6MJgKcH-q3teS7X2LqbZKLCLNBASB7Ha-ohjogBOAFAdtQnL3s5TbTHI4fmg7FdXSa9PhPR9-AtWbvrKHH8aPgis8B7Rdu84/s400/P6050002.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrK-4p7nf92i8JS5wjeEMi85Wn_Ikj2MsFb1ueamGqJ1B82so-Q6QHIhdMxfl_nyDrEb6dRcz_4F2D1632mZiXUBM4gIc2ZcRNbA5HfjheNB2SjHhBm35LoZWuXXI-fdSdYSwp7ez0WY/s1600/P6050003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrK-4p7nf92i8JS5wjeEMi85Wn_Ikj2MsFb1ueamGqJ1B82so-Q6QHIhdMxfl_nyDrEb6dRcz_4F2D1632mZiXUBM4gIc2ZcRNbA5HfjheNB2SjHhBm35LoZWuXXI-fdSdYSwp7ez0WY/s400/P6050003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxBOPokADLcIRQONLJ971PKAmIHsKxrN2dznclwNno3maia8UYjMbvn5bOtINC_WCD3Ealotzk25z7PTqMzUk-w3Bc8b1RfWMn5Bcv0l222mjk1Ul2XUmfrPyn4CVsrZCVv__HXKvlZc/s1600/P6050004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxBOPokADLcIRQONLJ971PKAmIHsKxrN2dznclwNno3maia8UYjMbvn5bOtINC_WCD3Ealotzk25z7PTqMzUk-w3Bc8b1RfWMn5Bcv0l222mjk1Ul2XUmfrPyn4CVsrZCVv__HXKvlZc/s400/P6050004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">practicing her smile</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoi_5dyl61FJjYu83myrzACe5uYc3uiT0uQ_Yn2N6HKoe2aofuUHeLWoUIb7wQqVPLHm7gGjcrc0jx7TKL3OJgdodY6ZCTRwEo90KuKxLhsq9NQHs-hBEyCrwBjw6ow8A8WVu9ULAEpQ/s1600/P6050005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoi_5dyl61FJjYu83myrzACe5uYc3uiT0uQ_Yn2N6HKoe2aofuUHeLWoUIb7wQqVPLHm7gGjcrc0jx7TKL3OJgdodY6ZCTRwEo90KuKxLhsq9NQHs-hBEyCrwBjw6ow8A8WVu9ULAEpQ/s400/P6050005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlXrlrQV3DVb8-82oyGenmPvIbdPUhBR7ewvfQSVQRP_FJEZGaXJceDUTZJKT-cb4r2RD9SkLnL6_PISsfyYkI8_mQ8GJo0Wveki_X26St_nh6We2fqBIeM0e2d1hTGxkhyphenhyphenFMODldfL4/s1600/P6050018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlXrlrQV3DVb8-82oyGenmPvIbdPUhBR7ewvfQSVQRP_FJEZGaXJceDUTZJKT-cb4r2RD9SkLnL6_PISsfyYkI8_mQ8GJo0Wveki_X26St_nh6We2fqBIeM0e2d1hTGxkhyphenhyphenFMODldfL4/s400/P6050018.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't take many pictures of Asa as he was moving too much or too fascinated by the 2 teenagers tossing a football in the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SIFuiAloQuLf-iekqcsDZ4NzgvP9QigDv1ss_5MoM77KIJF5Nx6Lq3ld94DvoFnvk7KeHZQVhe8c8_W4Wo2rJ6uLpcDXY_agCidYHC1wWgQJ8d-SkvsKfK8z46aU2otCDv868zX6j70/s1600/P6050033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SIFuiAloQuLf-iekqcsDZ4NzgvP9QigDv1ss_5MoM77KIJF5Nx6Lq3ld94DvoFnvk7KeHZQVhe8c8_W4Wo2rJ6uLpcDXY_agCidYHC1wWgQJ8d-SkvsKfK8z46aU2otCDv868zX6j70/s400/P6050033.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBt5G239V-kxIFxstdsohYzDbRqNqzrJOnhh7PFdyCNcY6q_7BrLqJLuP_5Ix9HTEgEPhNmzwAnIgvghXL8cSQvMW4jpdjnlk01Zh8K2BiCV3D8CLczZsiu7uDzA1FyKuNzSpuL4vGCiE/s1600/P6050045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBt5G239V-kxIFxstdsohYzDbRqNqzrJOnhh7PFdyCNcY6q_7BrLqJLuP_5Ix9HTEgEPhNmzwAnIgvghXL8cSQvMW4jpdjnlk01Zh8K2BiCV3D8CLczZsiu7uDzA1FyKuNzSpuL4vGCiE/s400/P6050045.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ENq8x6e9JORhOVmfQ4DA9oaFX7-DQPyHEd__6hdRCAnRx3193XgK89xHIOodNyyrhaWRQ0SCwZJy2VVdqi0jT6v7fP3NMVxtfCAN1nLGnq1n5BKKzMVvmmIRLbIvFdt2eLM02CR5Eqw/s1600/P6050049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ENq8x6e9JORhOVmfQ4DA9oaFX7-DQPyHEd__6hdRCAnRx3193XgK89xHIOodNyyrhaWRQ0SCwZJy2VVdqi0jT6v7fP3NMVxtfCAN1nLGnq1n5BKKzMVvmmIRLbIvFdt2eLM02CR5Eqw/s400/P6050049.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhKo_MwHwl1pu5fvp1dgl_dPdVA5VWONCL7cAZ06eS4Ebu0QhtSiJvMUEGFuE0yk4V_HU2d8PvwtIQOiIVy9nguU7kxYUgNQrIMhlANRPKW0ImOFYV-69C5xlwV-UYmSCCM6Xs4kwlDSg/s1600/P6050053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhKo_MwHwl1pu5fvp1dgl_dPdVA5VWONCL7cAZ06eS4Ebu0QhtSiJvMUEGFuE0yk4V_HU2d8PvwtIQOiIVy9nguU7kxYUgNQrIMhlANRPKW0ImOFYV-69C5xlwV-UYmSCCM6Xs4kwlDSg/s400/P6050053.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjWA6iLoeRKqjvf6aD-LshrhllG6OH38Ju8WTEDmxX0Uqh61TKV6lYk_C-dcT16M8zG-v7-13rsBS0t33SLZ192FKjp2Uyq7llfEC7BIpeBnQq1X1INsW_9IDiGLXFCF_lCzoorfkGLs/s1600/P6050055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjWA6iLoeRKqjvf6aD-LshrhllG6OH38Ju8WTEDmxX0Uqh61TKV6lYk_C-dcT16M8zG-v7-13rsBS0t33SLZ192FKjp2Uyq7llfEC7BIpeBnQq1X1INsW_9IDiGLXFCF_lCzoorfkGLs/s400/P6050055.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asa repeated, "ball, ball" as he watched the older boys play football</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Vfke331hy7TQkmrvz9yiF9aYvBv30FwqkawMtVgowqeoWGskkGRmC76aKNAGm96juB2Opfis9pLqHnqkWUp4L9Aalyheq1JRfzAG1RSKJyQc0NOj4yYn4I-SSeZmyCM7SgH4vdiPzsk/s1600/P6050065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Vfke331hy7TQkmrvz9yiF9aYvBv30FwqkawMtVgowqeoWGskkGRmC76aKNAGm96juB2Opfis9pLqHnqkWUp4L9Aalyheq1JRfzAG1RSKJyQc0NOj4yYn4I-SSeZmyCM7SgH4vdiPzsk/s400/P6050065.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SVm1XicVSPMmgqHwDX2-Er-omTMP38TcoQkKDx3jz9iMtBHovLFTDVKO3c9t4VbdNTJ7669zCjSlips-zQX1Wxk96d7gixXPbPvpYpgWX4MBLuam5S9Aaru6YhYMpdAc_ojETDJRcmE/s1600/asa.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SVm1XicVSPMmgqHwDX2-Er-omTMP38TcoQkKDx3jz9iMtBHovLFTDVKO3c9t4VbdNTJ7669zCjSlips-zQX1Wxk96d7gixXPbPvpYpgWX4MBLuam5S9Aaru6YhYMpdAc_ojETDJRcmE/s400/asa.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-14657161463608835442010-07-27T23:01:00.000-07:002010-07-27T23:01:27.609-07:00a few songsa few songs have meant a lot to me, so I'd thought I'd share them.<br />
<br />
You are with Me Still <br />
<a href="http://www.worshipcentral.org/song/you-are-with-me-still">http://www.worshipcentral.org/song/you-are-with-me-still</a><br />
<br />
Your Love Never Fails<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoezWBPGRAc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoezWBPGRAc</a><br />
<br />
How He Loves- one of the most impactful and favorite songs, David Crowder sings this song by this guys, but I really like his original version.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08&feature=related</a><br />
<br />
The Story behind the song<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NXWE6AC8ao&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NXWE6AC8ao&feature=related</a>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5216863955816282089.post-358004553773221212010-07-25T14:57:00.000-07:002010-07-25T14:57:25.580-07:00poor little guy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYR-PCryMX4IWXdAckJtQOFPeXvvwWmAKsdgV1kO0iGany02PirI0P9p48l9gU_ae6EU97VFSMX01_Wak1g8g1ZrsTiMVSwSWyy4xrz4oOqA9Jn4b4UHzNwGYXZ87VeyLDd78wOrngIo/s1600/DSCI0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYR-PCryMX4IWXdAckJtQOFPeXvvwWmAKsdgV1kO0iGany02PirI0P9p48l9gU_ae6EU97VFSMX01_Wak1g8g1ZrsTiMVSwSWyy4xrz4oOqA9Jn4b4UHzNwGYXZ87VeyLDd78wOrngIo/s320/DSCI0044.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPn5lbU6obJJOZAtOkDyHHBWVhufpYvDz0nKW7IO7PtKILuyBvZjfX_CCcYbhSSv0JeM3KchibKab2nOnGkJm0ui0hq20PotWsguCWc2njKEWSVPmLaC8WYfeacIRUsOfqlNaW-SAbtA/s1600/DSCI0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPn5lbU6obJJOZAtOkDyHHBWVhufpYvDz0nKW7IO7PtKILuyBvZjfX_CCcYbhSSv0JeM3KchibKab2nOnGkJm0ui0hq20PotWsguCWc2njKEWSVPmLaC8WYfeacIRUsOfqlNaW-SAbtA/s200/DSCI0052.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMSb4kMcLyZ6jOk_7d2scl4HwlISRBAhtx5uHon8XOzpJ1c8Sjr6w0_fYW0fvxO5I-1Pk54NSxehGzpkp6LBcTj6r0PpOP5-jpvJoTui9bGVKV1OBXVye9qJQ7efS_S5YpO8TPuHnarM/s1600/DSCI0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMSb4kMcLyZ6jOk_7d2scl4HwlISRBAhtx5uHon8XOzpJ1c8Sjr6w0_fYW0fvxO5I-1Pk54NSxehGzpkp6LBcTj6r0PpOP5-jpvJoTui9bGVKV1OBXVye9qJQ7efS_S5YpO8TPuHnarM/s200/DSCI0047.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Asa had a little trip to the hospital a few weeks ago. It turned out to be nothing at all, but we had a precautionary stay at the hospital from Monday to Thursday. Poor little guy didn't sleep so well with all the beeping and checking and IV hooked to him and all, but the nurses and staff were so nice. Fortunately he liked his crib and he even got a cute quilt and some handmade balls that he loves. Childlife provided toys for his room and a wagon to take rides in around the unit and to the activity room. Ava was a great big sister, helping Asa feel at home when she visited. She also loved the activity room...but she adored the "nourishment" room where they had supplied food and snacks, including those pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...she has told me she wants us to go to the hospital again whenever we are sick. </span>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011005481984520140noreply@blogger.com1