tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63693320418641184052024-03-05T01:55:16.129-08:00Life with Seven Spotted MonstersAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-91179150110677839382016-10-30T14:33:00.003-07:002016-10-30T14:34:29.758-07:00Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-41634430293780916242016-10-30T14:33:00.002-07:002016-10-30T14:34:26.510-07:00Be Attitudes from Beatitudes'Be Attitudes', this is what I thought of every time I heard a church lesson on Christ's sermon on the mount. Mount being short for mountain, who would have thought it? And who would have thought that ever since I was a teen I was hearing 'be attitudes' not 'beatitudes'. Latin is what we need to hear sometimes, its much clearer than our native tongue when you catch the hang of it. Beatitudo is latin for blessed. So when we do what Christ taught we have out attitudes of how to be ! Our be attitudes, right? <br />
<br />
And we are blessed for choosing to obey God's laws. We remain happy and free since our choices bring freedom to make more right choices and happiness is freedom (when gotten according to God's natural laws). For those nay sayers out there who think wickedness is happiness, ask one question, Am I happy 90% of the time? Because those poor stupid folks who are confined by religion and only pretending to be happy really are miserable and not free to make their own choices, right? No Way! The anti- God person who does exactly what they want is happy right? he did what he wanted now he's happy. When have you seen that work? Only when he's doing something that he wants to do that's good for him and others, good for the majority or the whole group. Now sometimes the whole group doesn't see something is good till much later, Hind Site is 20/20 right? <br />
<br />
So we have two choices. My way no matter what it does to others. OR- follow God's laws and do it according to my own style and spread truth and happiness. We can be individual and follow God's laws. He gave us free agency didn't he? He isn't trying to create clones or drones or cyborgs who don't think for them selves. And if he wanted us cast in a mold he'd have done it when we got her. <br />
<br />
Way One:<br />
<br />
The 23 year old woman whose addicted to cigarettes and drugs is super free. look at her, wearing the sexy clothes, having a party nightly. She's got the life. But this in only surface. Look deeper in and you see she feels sick every morning, unhealthy from abusing her body, hates her self and suffers from depression. Also, she has no friends because she can't be a friend. Those seeking her company are only there for what they get from her, a place to get high. She can't pay her rent or afford to pay $2 a pound for yummy asparagus. She walks everywhere since all her money is spent on her addiction. Sounds super free does it? What good parts of life is she missing out on because of her choices?<br />
<br />
Way Two:<br />
<br />
This 23 year old woman politely declines anything habit forming, she's clean and healthy. She always has all her mental faculties about her and consequently she has friends because she can be a friend. She is reliable yet fun and happy and free. She obeys natures laws and contributes to others happiness. If she choose to hike s steep 10 miles she can. If she chooses to save money she can, she is addiction free, she gets to decide her path. <br />
<br />
How we get to a beatitudo state of being? :<br />
<br />
The other woman looses control of her life and enjoys less freedom with every bad choice. This brings us back to the blessing of a 'be attitude'. <br />
<br />
I will be humble, let go of pride. I will be generous and give to others who need. I will be wrapped in a mantel of charity so that I am clothed in the image of the Savior. Luke teaches us that we should love, share, give, serve and help everyone, not just those who serve us and not even those who are nice to us, but to do these things unto everyone, even those who have hurt us. Matthew in chapter 6 and Luke chapter 6 teach us how to behave and what blessings we will receive, please read them and then study them so you can apply them in your life and really be blessed. Blessed with the blessings of earth and heaven, physical and spiritual. <br />
<br />
God has shown us the way to happiness and freedom from sin, heartache and undue pain caused by bad choices. He loves us and he has a plan for us here on earth and it is not what the devil says it is. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. God's promise is that if we forgive we will be forgiven. If we give generously our return will be go great we will have to tamp down the bucket in which to receive the blessing. Read the chapters line by line and you're testimony of a loving Heavenly Father will grow beyond your current state of faith. Don't we all need to increase our faith? <br />
<br />
These blessed blessings can be ours if we have the right Be Attitude!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-91870027210062023432016-07-16T13:53:00.001-07:002016-07-16T13:54:18.312-07:00<h2 align="center">
Family Exercise</h2>
<div align="center">
Some options for all ages exercising together or breaking up into appropriate groups so all members get their exercise, including mommy and toddlers!</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="justify">
We live in a warm climate and it doesn't snow here so our summers are hot and our winters are great. The following is a monthly outline of exercise based on weather, ages and variety to keep it so fun. Collect some PE books and ideas off the internet, field games, sports drills often work well for exercise for a family group. What ever you choose to do let your kids help with the game plan, they'll love deciding together what to do daily. </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
March, April, May- warms up in afternoons so we play at a park or walk or tennis or bike early in the morning, 7 to 8:30am. We may bike ride to the park and then play ball tag on the playground, this is fun for all of us and we play as a family. The kids roller blade, rip-stick, shoot hoops or play tag. </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
June, July, August- pilates in the living room, all ages can do this from 4 up. Today was hilarious, it was our return to pilates session and they were laughing at the positions and moves, this exercise builds great self awareness of how strong their bodies are. Swimming laps, playing pool games. My teen girl16 will swim one to two miles a day, I swim 20 laps and the little ones swim 6 laps, in a lap length pool of 75 meters. If there is a cooler or rainy/overcast day we head quickly to a park during monsoon season and play in the rain! Floor exercises and weight lifting are also indoor options.</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
September- splash pads at local parks and play (soccer) and get wet as needed. Sub any sport your family likes, kickball, tag, field games. There are little collapsible soccer goals that are perfect for hauling along. Mine were at Target eight years ago for $30. You can make up games like one on one or mom guards the goal and little ones dribble and pass to each other and try to score on mom. Swimming as the water temps allow. Also, this is a transitional month for weather so if it's really warm in the afternoons we get up with the sun and go to parks. </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
October- afternoons out to exercise- run sprints at the park with the kids, all ages, assign a goal for how many and how far each child can do. My kids, girl 5, boys 7 and 10 run the same distance, about a 100 yards, straight side of the track length, the boys do 8, they sprint over and jog slowly back and they are encouraged to build up to more and to do them faster. We swim on very warm days or go out early to beat the heat. </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
November, December, January and February- we hike weekly, the older kids go ahead alone on familiar trails with plenty of water and a watch, they'll hike out for the allotted time and turn around and come back while I piddle along slowly with babies. We do not bring a stroller, we encourage two and up to walk as far as possible. Under two can be carried in a baby backpack by mom or a teenager. The little kids love exploring nature, watching bugs and collecting specimens of plants they see. We also play tennis weekly as a family and then other days the teens run in the mornings or bike ride and I will run with littles ones on bikes by me or they'll run with me, a mile. </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-77233006188284097312016-04-01T16:41:00.001-07:002016-04-01T16:41:35.289-07:00A little bit about how we have started Charlotte Mason in our educational program in our home:<br />
<br />
After reading many books and websites about or by Charlotte I started by asking my teens what they thought about narration and making personal time lines. We practiced narration, we would read a section in a book we were currently using, like my 16Girl was in a new economics book, and we read together then practiced narration. I worked with my two kids who will be freshman in the fall of 2016 and we read book lists together and decided on which ones to purchase for our literature section to supplement geography, autobiographies, science, music and art. <br />
<br />
When the books arrive in the mail we put a label in the front cover that says what grade it goes with and what time period it is about. This helps us keep them easy to use and not loose. <br />
<br />
We slimmed down the schedule from amblesideonling.org and made it lighter to use. So we printed their book list and highlighted on it the ones we decided to buy. We printed their schedule of daily reading and use it as a guide to structure our time, but again, in a lighter version. So we have an organized list of which book to use which semester and a schedule of reading to refer to. If students want other books they could get them from the library or buy them. <br />
<br />
The teens also got binders and hole punched card stock to begin a time line. We divided our time periods and marked the line in the center, doing fold outs so we can view four pages at a time. As they read about a person, event or invention they mark it on their time line. I too made a time line and am enjoying it a lot. <br />
<br />
To implement CM with my 10 year old we began with narration, which he hated but eventually got the hang of and now sees the value. He may still dislike it but he sees that his memory is much better and long term. <br />
<br />
To add history into our day with a 5girl, 7boy and 10boy we began with the recording of Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall and read by Karen Shallenburg. Charlotte's schools read this aloud to the kids a couple pages at a time from k to 4th when it was completed. There is a free recording on librivox.org and the history is amazing, simple and interesting. My husband is a major historian and he said, after listening to some of the stories, that they are accurate and sum it up pretty well. As kids get older it will be easy to add to what's missing. Marshall wrote in story form and the kids enjoy the readers voice and we listen to two or three at a time, they beg for us to listen to more. Marshall moves through the islands history from the beginning at a nice pace, she says things like "many years later and many kings later" such and such happened. It covers the main points and everyone can learn much from it. <br />
<br />
As a side note: many Americans that have left comments on CM sites and blogs say they are skipping English history, that it is not necessary. I would like to point our that It is necessary for Americans to understand England's history and by default that of Rome where they overlap, we won't understand our government or past if we don't know England's history. It's the basis of our language and our law structure and much more.<br />
<br />
So here is the link : <a href="https://librivox.org/search?q=Our">https://librivox.org/search?q=Our</a> island story&search_form=advanced<br />
<br />
Another way I am studying CM and using it is to read the amblesideonline summary of each year and I'm organizing it by subject not year, so I noticed that the same nature observation book is used for many elementary years and that other books are used for multiple years also, this made it easier to implement in our educational system, we have home educated for 16 years and needed fun new but easy ways to bring life into our curriculum. The kids are all happy and willingly participating with the changes, subtle yet deeply impacting us all. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." <br />
<br />
Some of our books that are working well for CM curriculum are the following: <br />
<br />
Abeka science for 6th grade, it's a great book and has lots of botany and tries to work in as much narration, description, biographies and life as is possible for a text book, it is Christian and teaches that God's hand is able to be seen in nature. <br />
<br />
Phil G. Goulding Classical Music is one for teens, I took it and marked on the index what historical period each composer falls into. So as the highschoolers move through their curriculum they can study four composers a year. Charlotte Mason has every grade work on artists and composers, knowing their sound or art and being familiar and able to recognize it when seen or heard. Some years it's suggested to do six of each. We are setting the goal at four of each. So this means that in highschool they will learn about 12 artists and composers. This is 12 more than I or my husband learned about in all our years of public school put together! I am so excited to have an attainable goal that is going to show us big time rewards. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://amblesideonline.org/09bks.shtml">http://amblesideonline.org/09bks.shtml</a> <br />
heavy list and overwhelming but useful for book lists <br />
<br />
<a href="https://simplycharlottemason.com/">https://simplycharlottemason.com/</a> <br />
nice summary of Charlotte's teachings, makes it easy to see the goal<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ldshomeschoolinginca.org/">http://www.ldshomeschoolinginca.org/</a> <br />
great for starting home school and to get ideas and questions answered <br />
<br />
I will post my cross reference CM book list for the grade levels soon! still working on it<br />
<br />
A day where nothing was learned is a lost day - something I read from Miss Mason<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-16670434954327474902016-03-11T14:46:00.000-08:002016-03-11T14:46:18.462-08:00Two Thumbs Up for Apologia Science Author Jim L. WiseExploring Creation with Biology - is an amazing look at science through Christian beliefs that our Maker is also the Creator of the earth. I have read the first two chapters and then read chapter 8 which is about the two opposing theories, evolution and the geological index of eras, or the theory that catastrophic events form earths features like the Grand Canyon. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDd3VxBvwER-dQkDIiGc9PMwADuXxEPEol6qkBzMipvTv1jHWqX_mI5y0PmPdoc1qO2Nxm1qV9wJyyjXnd2-BAPDLbQcd5tcYk7y5Bxs_fpSF_tOVgFJ0k4mvWssMUGYoMbpQo_6ha4U/s1600/horseevolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDd3VxBvwER-dQkDIiGc9PMwADuXxEPEol6qkBzMipvTv1jHWqX_mI5y0PmPdoc1qO2Nxm1qV9wJyyjXnd2-BAPDLbQcd5tcYk7y5Bxs_fpSF_tOVgFJ0k4mvWssMUGYoMbpQo_6ha4U/s320/horseevolution.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I wish I had grown up reading Mr. Wise's science books! The picture of the evolution of horses in America that was in my text books has always bothered me, I knew God created people and the earth and all other creatures but sitting in school listening to the theory of evolution always disturbed me, I shelved it in the back of my mind since I could not resolve the conflicting teachings between school and religion. Now I'm thrilled my kids can have the truth from the beginning, or as much of it as we and scientists who believe in God have uncovered. In 1979, a year after I was born a leading scientist said that the evolution pictures of the horse in America is a perfect example of evolutionists twisting data to fit their theory and that it was discarded as unsound science. Well, my text books did not discard it, I was taught this untruth for many years to come. I now am happily resolved and adamant that my children's minds will remain uncontaminated from deliberate misinformation. Also quoted in the text book is a quote from Darwin himself saying that the only flaw in his theory were the "missing links" that presented a problem. Most people who find a flaw in their theory Clam Up and don't share something they know to be untrue. What kind of person deliberately lies to become know?<br />
<br />
Why? with all the knowledge we have do the lies get perpetuated for generations and the truth is so hard to dig up? Literally, it feels like digging and tossing aside filth and sifting out truth. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-50170447196282640582016-03-11T14:43:00.002-08:002016-03-11T14:43:50.131-08:00math options<strong>Abeka</strong>- expensive for the quality, lower grades are the same as a workbook purchased from Costco. Have a second grade student workbook. Too expensive for what it was. <br />
<br />
<strong>Saxon</strong>- very heavy on the parents side, time consuming. Rote memory and not much of the fun reasons to love math. Spirals daily, meaning it goes over all the past learned skills. Skills are mastered but it can feel painful for some students. Have 5/6 and 6/7 books. Pages look overwhelming to some students, large amount of daily practice. <br />
<br />
<strong>Investigations</strong>- K - 5- like it a lot, kids like it and master the skills, attain fluency due to how it's set up. there are areas to draw out or solve problems in multiple ways. Only a few problems on each page and it builds as it goes. there are student work books and a hand book. I found that I didn't need a teachers manual for k-3 at all and in 4th wanted the unit manual for some units like the fractions section. It is mental math, showing all the work isn't the emphasis. Knowing how to get the answer is the goal. Also is affordable to purchase workbooks for each student. I got unused but worn copies second hand for $10-15 on line at places like abebooks.com and amazon.<br />
<br />
<strong>Connected Mathematics</strong>- 6-8- written by the University of Michigan and are very science oriented math skills, everything taught pertains to real life situations and the graphing sections are actual scientific data, like the ratio of the femur to the height of men and women. It does not spell out the basics for the parent/teacher. It needs a math whiz to teach it, I am not this. We did really really love the amazing feel it gave us for what math can do, it is great for science minded people. Shows the outside the box uses of math. More reading than in other texts, again about life uses for the concept being covered. Units cover probability, statistics, geometry, algebra and everything else! Most of it was over my head even with teachers manuals. BUT so worth it!<br />
<br />
so we were introduced to <strong>Math-U-See</strong> by a friend, we borrowed the pre- algebra and completed it in 6 months, three kids did this. A girl 16 whose struggled because she went through too many different math curriculums trying to pick a good one. And two kids in eight grade, girl 14 and boy 12. I handed them the teachers manual and student book and they primarily taught them selves, I helped clarify when asked, they also watched the video of the writer of the program teaching the lesson if they needed more help. It teaches the necessary basics quickly and concisely, no hammering it into the ground with too many problems or too long of lessons. it is not designed to take 160 -180 school days or a school year to accomplish. The levels are to be done in order as the student has mastered(tested well) the lessons they move on. Very simple, it is however boring, not creative or shows almost no use in life. (keep a clean copy of the student work book, when the publisher/owner reprints or edits and updates his curriculum he no longer prints old versions of the manuals. The curriculum is $77 for elementary levels and $35 for student books.)<br />
<br />
My intent here on out is to combine it with Connected Mathematics! I am going to use Math-U-See as my basic lesson and add spice to it by supplementing with the fun applications in Connected. I will let you know in a couple years how this pans out, I am making notes in Connected as to which Math-U-See lessons/grades to complete prior to doing the Connected Mathematics. <br />
<br />
My recommendations are to use one math all the way through, any of these work well for the families we know. Just don't switch every year like I did, searching for the perfect math. They all get the job done in different ways. Stay with one, my top recommendation would be Math-U-See and second would be Saxon. Unless you're a math whiz then definitely use Connected Mathematics for 6-8th and use mathusee with it and for the other grades. Raising a little engineer or scientist would be easy with Connected. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5C9DPxz7xx2vvUrmhG2p-oEwAna4CWcMNuRCkfOjxi_mUGKDAU1SYThj4MC7hyBAi5_xiHVjbNV8irc4gCUDV6C9joo7bjZIjmCePNFAv0A8qH-TixSVTnlOcITM3uIxu0bjjJOLfuhM/s1600/9780130530738-us-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5C9DPxz7xx2vvUrmhG2p-oEwAna4CWcMNuRCkfOjxi_mUGKDAU1SYThj4MC7hyBAi5_xiHVjbNV8irc4gCUDV6C9joo7bjZIjmCePNFAv0A8qH-TixSVTnlOcITM3uIxu0bjjJOLfuhM/s200/9780130530738-us-300.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aErryALRLsvY1jViRGzFPL9IoO78NgZCw14HFl_8Q6Ke82ahNKmL3ajQhx52X3lGLxRLJtErE_MsVCc4cAoOaK2YO3ohAULAuwni8CYJbbxqPyJsKyPqKN4aUg8xptTB4zIscX0piq0/s1600/9781608260096-us-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aErryALRLsvY1jViRGzFPL9IoO78NgZCw14HFl_8Q6Ke82ahNKmL3ajQhx52X3lGLxRLJtErE_MsVCc4cAoOaK2YO3ohAULAuwni8CYJbbxqPyJsKyPqKN4aUg8xptTB4zIscX0piq0/s200/9781608260096-us-300.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUltNI_ENb-mHZUHLWfvbd3qGeAuFp5tqA53qx9DcO1zBtOvk9Roh7RjtTIa0U_edPIDg8KwQ_CgpbiD2jKMnbA2qtzaINY4Sv8mreYm9rg2aK28F4Y395Uy7qHOjGctoEPCsrIGtpGnc/s1600/th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUltNI_ENb-mHZUHLWfvbd3qGeAuFp5tqA53qx9DcO1zBtOvk9Roh7RjtTIa0U_edPIDg8KwQ_CgpbiD2jKMnbA2qtzaINY4Sv8mreYm9rg2aK28F4Y395Uy7qHOjGctoEPCsrIGtpGnc/s200/th.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-77091226176513334882015-07-29T17:37:00.000-07:002015-07-31T15:33:44.363-07:00It's a home not a showroom! Enjoy your home and let your kids "be at home" in it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBG3tpn096vZgfOu-Hw52I_jEAV100DlRwF0Vv4VvPtxFlG5jRgUIp34sFelAhn9osO0LCj7vr2Hef8aVbMuXO6cUe0iXIQ8tQ_Oh-flkY-a78Q2eLjbS-AhzAqvUL60B2KJciD930ktg/s1600/20150713_123000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBG3tpn096vZgfOu-Hw52I_jEAV100DlRwF0Vv4VvPtxFlG5jRgUIp34sFelAhn9osO0LCj7vr2Hef8aVbMuXO6cUe0iXIQ8tQ_Oh-flkY-a78Q2eLjbS-AhzAqvUL60B2KJciD930ktg/s320/20150713_123000.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is what our living room looks like ALL THE TIME!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fb0x4tsF6epZ1vxH0bapSYoz9cl7X8fiyESK2qDwhV8-Hfcva-45xhFvSpjUCdY-q7H6W9A6AK4OzBCQq_UmgW-HGT2CD5mDR82oUmW9xiFVY1bvuB35Ucb0Ui1jcInBbGGyDaZolnE/s1600/20150713_123030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fb0x4tsF6epZ1vxH0bapSYoz9cl7X8fiyESK2qDwhV8-Hfcva-45xhFvSpjUCdY-q7H6W9A6AK4OzBCQq_UmgW-HGT2CD5mDR82oUmW9xiFVY1bvuB35Ucb0Ui1jcInBbGGyDaZolnE/s320/20150713_123030.jpg" width="180" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Drawing/art/craft table for the two little ones. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Which they use constantly and we clean constantly, baby likes to come to find snacks here!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One week he had blue poop, then green then purple till we figured out he was sucking on markers.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmzVIEBYKukVnWf9bkFPL_eVoqFcEsNlDpEHmO00_y20apXd8LqR2qeErjJ7Fe5fu0ZfUbXew99JDeVI2M95B5TQw9w5YA8ngQ4nnwxmyld8MV6r6z0nHZGKYsDLkVnhBX7Ty5pb2jOo/s1600/20150713_123112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmzVIEBYKukVnWf9bkFPL_eVoqFcEsNlDpEHmO00_y20apXd8LqR2qeErjJ7Fe5fu0ZfUbXew99JDeVI2M95B5TQw9w5YA8ngQ4nnwxmyld8MV6r6z0nHZGKYsDLkVnhBX7Ty5pb2jOo/s320/20150713_123112.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Every time I look at the bathroom it looks like this. </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-59158516770582561382015-07-29T17:34:00.000-07:002015-07-29T17:34:05.075-07:00Parenting Makeover! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlvdvdUh9jzRHWKS6i61KDFkPTWmzsx3PTZfjd44i31G1NqTFi-A3B3G42624_0Czkmhx7sZvCF1P8CkAVADkfkzsj9kGNcwF56bkVqtie-eE1gNnH4_v02KpFPSc1eFj1PJ6KLC1qBQ/s1600/1436827577802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlvdvdUh9jzRHWKS6i61KDFkPTWmzsx3PTZfjd44i31G1NqTFi-A3B3G42624_0Czkmhx7sZvCF1P8CkAVADkfkzsj9kGNcwF56bkVqtie-eE1gNnH4_v02KpFPSc1eFj1PJ6KLC1qBQ/s320/1436827577802.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNICdbaADVUt7HLcqCN46apsSjysqhOXHPv5hrBNO_ZN7oSCpBbyYpYP2lqaQVbjm8blbI-N9jH458lPQ_VElZCfhJ8KJOvCJ0AobV1RFPjTZr5F8yDIX5bKxxOk3dXMcf9nl5zu6phnk/s1600/1436827751845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNICdbaADVUt7HLcqCN46apsSjysqhOXHPv5hrBNO_ZN7oSCpBbyYpYP2lqaQVbjm8blbI-N9jH458lPQ_VElZCfhJ8KJOvCJ0AobV1RFPjTZr5F8yDIX5bKxxOk3dXMcf9nl5zu6phnk/s320/1436827751845.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
These books are great: I refer to them often and the wisdom in them is enduring the test of time and use. I am a better mom because I implement the techniques in these books and learned how to think about the effect my choices have on my monsters. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-49113611297086136252015-07-29T17:29:00.003-07:002015-07-29T17:44:01.341-07:00Beginning to teach Reading with the amazing Spalding Writing Road to Reading<span style="color: #274e13;">My son is loving his lessons, doing them willingly and making quick progress. He no longer looks at a vowel sound in a word freezes up, he also uses the syllables when reading scriptures daily. He is spelling better because he knows the sounds really well now. I am happy and so is HE! I have seen much progress in very few lessons once we memorized the phonemes. He took a week. My 6 and 5 year olds are nearly done with the 70 phonemes after 3 weeks. They write them all but have trouble repeating all the sounds for each one. They enjoy it though, it's quick pace keeps them occupied, they only write the letters once and move through the list quickly each day. My 5 year old is now filling paper after paper with sounds and proudly showing me. </span><br />
<br />
My sister in law has homeschooled for 16 years and I have for 11 and we both taught our oldest kids how to read with Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons, it's some basic phonics and some sight words and every other lesson adds a new sound and reviews old sounds, and after a few lessons there are short stories. It's boring, and dry but does work for most kids. It is also easy to learn to teach and 10 minutes a day. My oldest hated it and struggled, the next two were younger than her and learned easily and read real books when we finished it, The Hobbit and scriptures. Lessons have student write two letters 6 times at the end of a lesson. <br />
<br />
My oldest needed something better and struggled for years to read well and fluently, by the time she was 12 she was reading quickly and for fun. Her spelling also improved drastically as her reading did. <br />
<br />
My fourth child took 4 years to teach to read and it was very painful and I spent lots of time praying and crying even, I was at a loss as to why he couldn't pick it up. So after asking a lady from church who I found out taught kids with learning disabilities to read, he apparently has dyslexia. So I used Hooked on Phonics and Rocket Phonics which both have serious flaws in them. Cycling through these two and the 100 Lessons helped but was not enough. He was barely at grade level. He's 9.<br />
<br />
We both have switched to old school phonic lessons with spelling rules. Last month a friend gave me her old copy of The Spalding Writing Road to Reading. And last year my sister in law found a book called The Logic of English. Both teach the 70 phonemes needed to read and the 35 spelling rules for the English language, including the five reasons for silent e on the end of words. We both wish we'd seen these books sooner, they are amazing and we both love our new methods to teach reading. For more information on The Logic of English you'll need to refer to reviews on the internet. I am going to buy it too. You cant have too many resources!<br />
<br />
The Spalding method is one teacher text about $40, flash cards about $20 and writing notebooks with wide lines. I use regular notebooks and kids write on two lines. It takes some time to familiarize yourself with the method. Schools pay $550 for their teachers to take a spalding class for two weeks for four hours a day. So I studied for about 20 hours and then had a friend who homeschools come over for a half hour to answer my questions. The book is k to 8th. <br />
<br />
Steps: <br />
<br />
*memorize the 70 phonemes, say them and write them adding new ones and reviewing old ones<br />
*write them until student does them easily<br />
*write daily spelling words, weekly list. may move quicker for older kids<br />
*have a lesson on syllables, helps with reading and pronunciation and with spelling rules<br />
*learn how to mark the spelling words- if a sound makes three choices and the word being spelled uses the second one you write a 2 above the sound.<br />
* write the spelling rules in their notebook, a few a day until done<br />
*discuss spelling rules as they are used in the daily writing words<br />
*sentences are next, using words they already know how to spell<br />
*grammar is added using words and sentences already known<br />
*daily they read their list for reading and read their list for spelling, "read for reading" or "read for spelling" so they check rules and markings<br />
<br />
The word list is included in the book. The grammar lessons are not, neither are the sentences. My friend who taught it in school, before homeschooling her kids, said you'd make your own lessons. Make up sentences with known words and let students make their sentences. Grammar is taught through writing, not worksheets, from my understanding. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.spalding.org/index.php?tname=support&p=lessonplans">http://www.spalding.org/index.php?tname=support&p=lessonplans</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13;">A phoneme page, with guide words and rules<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ap4w7ySpFp7pEqV4NNUZwbvzYsKB1SKbXqYxKZCbOYHuqxhjnCVQaScqn2JY0YV_WOABlmzNlVnOCEoUwSUYFTKit6bgIAayzRoml-9SCl-6pKu5tahw0qtaHvNJEV9eMV9eMNqyecs/s1600/20150729_171119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ap4w7ySpFp7pEqV4NNUZwbvzYsKB1SKbXqYxKZCbOYHuqxhjnCVQaScqn2JY0YV_WOABlmzNlVnOCEoUwSUYFTKit6bgIAayzRoml-9SCl-6pKu5tahw0qtaHvNJEV9eMV9eMNqyecs/s640/20150729_171119.jpg" width="360" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #274e13;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">A word list page, words are learned with syllable divisions and marked, there is a chapter teaching how to mark them. It's basic and easy. </span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpimGFq71O6IlfwMrFK22X0YEXhfFemfITGWsww9BSDv8UlZlxjXNMuUsligUfUiX0_gm7WJvxuG0R4gj-XbYrY0C4Q6gTXEKMDy1jHCtVEeO7CsrRmQlyWv5oknvXZTpHJ8Ee164z7Cs/s1600/20150729_171139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpimGFq71O6IlfwMrFK22X0YEXhfFemfITGWsww9BSDv8UlZlxjXNMuUsligUfUiX0_gm7WJvxuG0R4gj-XbYrY0C4Q6gTXEKMDy1jHCtVEeO7CsrRmQlyWv5oknvXZTpHJ8Ee164z7Cs/s640/20150729_171139.jpg" width="360" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13;"> The guides for parts of speech from the spelling list for each level.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNWi5yHXqKDwDCH5zJ4-fJqhe9wShhz0OAsrepXFTXkRhgRo1BGdwfRsnCK5WmwuNiTVDUP0M0pm5zvr4L7wcOlSyIq0dL1C8njKmKJPwLASld5Te3tq1MworBT2EpcqkQCsKG4im17w/s1600/20150729_171207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNWi5yHXqKDwDCH5zJ4-fJqhe9wShhz0OAsrepXFTXkRhgRo1BGdwfRsnCK5WmwuNiTVDUP0M0pm5zvr4L7wcOlSyIq0dL1C8njKmKJPwLASld5Te3tq1MworBT2EpcqkQCsKG4im17w/s640/20150729_171207.jpg" width="360" /></a></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-10004805598839193912015-07-15T20:23:00.001-07:002015-07-15T20:24:05.254-07:00 favorite art books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxnsQwbbiDjIT9SAuifWD_NGHpjPkYBdp9p9aku13_1j6l98lIol1cQw6P1qWWyiK3gn99tnuHh2xY3idpY-c6K98SpEzWwtkha56rNGUrDmLdljLpxSywKxhsUCbQp8F1pXHF3Knea8/s1600/1436542632465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxnsQwbbiDjIT9SAuifWD_NGHpjPkYBdp9p9aku13_1j6l98lIol1cQw6P1qWWyiK3gn99tnuHh2xY3idpY-c6K98SpEzWwtkha56rNGUrDmLdljLpxSywKxhsUCbQp8F1pXHF3Knea8/s320/1436542632465.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Discovering Great Artists is a book I use over and over again, even for the same kids. As they grow their art develops so doing the same project is different each time. These are real art project, no crafts. Some materials are on hand and others you'd need to purchase, but it's reasonable. There is a paragraph about the artist and a project to emulate theirs. This is a good way for kids to try lots of techniques and styles and develop their own art personality. Does not have pictures of artist work in it, I get these off the internet and show the kids the art before we do the project. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCs5lKdoS_w0cKy3csbQP71uWIbInutKY2CRI2CgQfT8ijvh1smeFLRvBlXgZM1-uxSoodRlzJ5tm-S8aXS_hmcE01xA4E4Gszm2v_9nCtYNhYq5KAfD0pe4WayEaGKHEV2qUoNmYT5rM/s1600/1436543354602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCs5lKdoS_w0cKy3csbQP71uWIbInutKY2CRI2CgQfT8ijvh1smeFLRvBlXgZM1-uxSoodRlzJ5tm-S8aXS_hmcE01xA4E4Gszm2v_9nCtYNhYq5KAfD0pe4WayEaGKHEV2qUoNmYT5rM/s320/1436543354602.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
These books by Mike Venezia are fabulous, funny and varied, they cover most of the famous artists and include their childhood and life story. They have great photos of art work, including other artists living at the same time period. My kids reread these and discuss the artists in everyday conversations. It's great!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-40450465010461884052015-07-14T11:26:00.003-07:002015-07-14T11:26:36.311-07:00Mastering WeaknessThe most frustrating thing about parenting for me is that our kids learn by watching what we do, this is a double edge sword. I am super impatient and get very irritated at distractions, kids who leave without finishing a task(our 9 year old son), and I also get irritated at messes, not accidents but when it's careless I get irritated that the mess is going to cost me time, that it will delay the thing I'm trying to accomplish. I have come to know myself well and a lot of times I'm not happy with what I see. I spend too much of my time irritated at things in life that are going to happen daily. Do I really want to spend my days irritated inside myself? No Way! Two talks I read and reread weekly are Elder Hollands April 2007 The Tongue of Angels and Be Slow To Anger by Elder Christensen April 1971. <br />
<br />
Elder L. Ray Christensen: Parents may tell<br />
But never teach<br />
Unless they practice<br />
what they preach<br />
<br />
And this poem is now hanging three locations in my home and we all have it memorized:<br />
A Little Explained<br />
A Little Endured<br />
A Little passed over<br />
And the quarrel is cured<br />
He counsels us that "frustrations often offer us the means of progression, for by overcoming them harmoniously, we grow and become more Christlike. He also said this and this is my theme running around in my brain when I battle for control over my thoughts so my words are loving, " the size of a man may be measured by the size of the things that make him angry" He teaches that in life , "We are constantly exposed to irritations as we mingle with others—and even when we are alone. How we react to these irritations is a reflection of our personalities and temperaments. It would seem reasonable to believe that in order to develop a healthy, pleasing personality and to become useful and an influence for good, one must avoid being easily provoked to anger. Not only would we show, thereby, more maturity, but we would also be able to resolve disturbing situations more intelligently, because seldom, if ever, is any good accomplished while persons are in a rage. Anger does not contribute to good. It is a destroyer, not a builder."<br />
The following is one part of Elder Hollands talk that I have highlighted and again read regularly.<br />
<div id="p12" uri="/general-conference/2007/04/the-tongue-of-angels.p12">
“Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”<sup class="noteMarker"> <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/the-tongue-of-angels?lang=eng#4-">4</a> </sup></div>
<div id="p13" uri="/general-conference/2007/04/the-tongue-of-angels.p13">
"Well, <i>that</i> is pretty straightforward! Obviously James doesn’t mean our tongues are <i>always</i> iniquitous, nor that <i>everything</i> we say is “full of deadly poison.” But he clearly means that at least some things we say can be destructive, even venomous—and that is a chilling indictment for a Latter-day Saint! The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion <i>can be</i> the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process. “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing,” James grieves. “My brethren [and sisters], these things ought not so to be.”</div>
<div id="p14" uri="/general-conference/2007/04/the-tongue-of-angels.p14">
Is this something we could all work on just a little? Is this an area in which we could each try to be a little more like a “perfect” man or woman?"</div>
<br />
While being realistic about shortcomings I also believe we should see our growth and recognize when we have had a victory. I am a more patient person that I used to be, I keep a journal faithfully and when I reread it I see insights into myself I am sure would be overlooked if not written down. I have improved, yet daily I struggle with the same bad reactions. It's been a learning process to curb unkind words when I'm irritated. I do know I can do it though.<br />
<br />
Last week I was in the living room and hear a crash and the sound of glass shattering. My first thought was oh it was probably my grandmothers bowl but I didn't say that, what I chose to say was, <br />"Don't move, nobody move, we don't want anyone hurt." This response allowed the child in the kitchen to speak up and say what happened knowing I was concerned about them and not an object. <br />
<br />
For every victory I achieve over my inner reaction to be irritated I feel a step closer to becoming perfect like Christ has asked us to become. I try not to count my slips, that's not fun and becomes overwhelming. What ever bad trait or habit we'd like to over come it is a way for us to become closer to Christ and use the atonement to forgive ourselves, know that He does understand how we feel and will support us in what we desire to become. <br />
<br />
So whatever I am working on and you are working on we can support each other in our path to perfection by forgiving and restraining judgment and looking for each others' talents and positive traits.<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-56842115676682726202015-07-13T12:49:00.000-07:002015-07-29T17:33:14.342-07:00Art for the whole family! Purchasing art curriculums is a tricky business, many are trying to cover necessities of art terms bu really kill the fun of art. Just like grammar worksheets killed all desire to write in many of us. I've seen some and they are not good for lessons, they can help the parent/teacher learn but then you'll need to let the kids learn by hands on art. A lot of art is inherent in kids, they know that lava spewing out of their drawing needs wavy lines to show the flow. They know that down slanted eyes and brows look mean or angry and that pointy noses indicate a villain. Art curriculums tend to spell this out and the kids feel insulted and bored. My preference is to teach from real artists, not companies trying to fill a hole in their curriculum. Again this is an example of dead versus living knowledge. One method is torturous and the other engaging.<br />
I've got 7 kids and have taught hundreds of lessons to local homeschooled children in our area. My philosophy is that if the kids are bored and uninterested then you are teaching it the wrong way. God created our spirits to love learning and crave new ideas and knowledge, this leads us towards other truths and we feel light and fulfilled. I have ruined many good topics by a horrible lesson. I watch to see if my method is sparking interest or dread, if it's the latter I go back to the drawing board and begin again. I ask the kids what they want to learn about the topic and get their ideas on how to make it interesting and ask what method they'd like to learn it through. They have great suggestions. <br />
Idea #1) A fabulous book for mom/teacher to read and use with kids of all ages is "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. Published in 1978 and still the best around to get kids and adults to use their creative side and turn off the left uncreative part of the brain. Move through the 21 chapters teaching one at a time then after the students try the art technique you do the next lesson, review as you go and use the first activities to start each art session because they activate the right side of the brain. <br />
These are drawing lessons and materials they need include pens, oil pastels, and a selection of various pencil leads and a large pad, nothing smaller than 11x14. <br />
#2 See if your local art museum has a program to educate adults in art so you can teach children. In Phoenix the Phoenix Art Museum has a seminar for a day every September, for close to $25 educators get many classes, hands on lessons, a guided tour with conversations about art that are just what you'll go home and replicate in your discussions with your students, a set of 4 to 6 poster size prints of art work in the museum to keep. The seminar discusses art terms and concepts and teaches you how to talk about art. I attend every possible year and am very disappointed when I cant make it. Two years I missed due to pregnancies and I called the class coordinator and she mailed me the poster sets free of charge. The museum has sponsors who help cover the cost of printing the posters and they are trying to encourage the public to make good use of the program. <br />
#3 Either from a book or online list - find a list of art terms and discuss them while looking at art work. Kids will automatically try them out in their own work without being told to do so. The Phoenix Art Museum and many others have online galleries. After the kids learn the terms the subsequent discussions can be shifted from instruction to review and searching for examples of technique. <br />
<br />
Provide lots of art time and stay away from coloring books and crafts, these are not art. These are for people who think they are not creative and want to follow a script, directions or rules, like in a coloring book where kids must stay in the lines. <br />
<br />
My 6 year old son loves to draw monsters and he was adamant he couldn't draw anything else. So we sat at the computer and looked at boat pictures and I told him if he'd draw a boat I'd give him a piece of candy. He tried a simple boat and liked the results and kept working on more boats that each got more details and he was thrilled. Now he tries new things to draw, houses, people, plants he makes up. The feeling in his art is wonderful, very alive and inspiring. <br />
Keep your kids sketch books or take photos of what they draw, it's great for memories and records and to see progress. You can "frame" them by taping them to black poster board cut an inch or two larger than the picture. We thumb tack them to the hallway walls or to their bedroom walls and hang them on the fridge. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The two following paintings are from our 15 year old daughter. She loves watercolor. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwZxykm-0PJvWaV69wms3GqkE7lTW_ZbxaS7F3bL5EZLWdvwUD83FMDG69D8-OAFWdXP2aJV3dR31nBh9OvALIm9e2ANbbhEcy5ETHO5sbciX_t4bQR3HM9ZtxFUHk5a7BTxxP_lIWk4/s1600/20150617_074800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwZxykm-0PJvWaV69wms3GqkE7lTW_ZbxaS7F3bL5EZLWdvwUD83FMDG69D8-OAFWdXP2aJV3dR31nBh9OvALIm9e2ANbbhEcy5ETHO5sbciX_t4bQR3HM9ZtxFUHk5a7BTxxP_lIWk4/s320/20150617_074800.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJtD0d8jzAUkmjjti0ZbZpBLaTGgHEXrptz50ScYsEMqAcu_km4xH44nzsUcHtmrju3AkmgCVBK5xqP93SD_5LO-kg3W8h8b5s7qjAq6gB5RbVB9yalCXMYeL66Zmm27QnN8fV6StxyM/s1600/20150617_074829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJtD0d8jzAUkmjjti0ZbZpBLaTGgHEXrptz50ScYsEMqAcu_km4xH44nzsUcHtmrju3AkmgCVBK5xqP93SD_5LO-kg3W8h8b5s7qjAq6gB5RbVB9yalCXMYeL66Zmm27QnN8fV6StxyM/s320/20150617_074829.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
Below: notice the wavy arm and bent body, this is the mean guy chasing the good people</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvTPv8z-kndx7bgDhmucN6I8rHDdE1k-RnL5qz1x2Aw1BSlVe0bshat2Sfe_TObahmbBwTwhAdTdfiBb61vexmQdkzr101oAilkq7fwMU9CzewqiHXO-Wx-oztqz0hZblEqcXLJwcPRI/s1600/20150514_082929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvTPv8z-kndx7bgDhmucN6I8rHDdE1k-RnL5qz1x2Aw1BSlVe0bshat2Sfe_TObahmbBwTwhAdTdfiBb61vexmQdkzr101oAilkq7fwMU9CzewqiHXO-Wx-oztqz0hZblEqcXLJwcPRI/s320/20150514_082929.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This guy is "bad" notice the slender body and sharp long claws. Opposite feeling from the fat round friendly monster whose being eaten.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASW3E4b_onuNOFHM7ug1Jg6TBo9uoJpZAHdHmY62WgwpFjMqbmxJgb0J0ZdGlUnSNJA7oF3OVD579NYv3GwXuaWrpy7oFkyk9fHsDp4xcRjiWxCN2PQKCWMiqVToj1wmPKCB0-dk1yEI/s1600/20150514_082942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASW3E4b_onuNOFHM7ug1Jg6TBo9uoJpZAHdHmY62WgwpFjMqbmxJgb0J0ZdGlUnSNJA7oF3OVD579NYv3GwXuaWrpy7oFkyk9fHsDp4xcRjiWxCN2PQKCWMiqVToj1wmPKCB0-dk1yEI/s320/20150514_082942.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This family is dangerous! And their long tongues are poison.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpL3Tw1Ew4tO_mdgdQjfIB8Uhn4EpS7WddyWl-p1bN2ZhD5QP0oGK9rY5rkZ0DPvFXgMnbIEBlQuZOdAfhLW9VvcBmuoZQqCY8xV1PAawG4KA4WqzDgtP2X8z7uqP1OBSN-_Tsxh3DozM/s1600/20150514_082951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpL3Tw1Ew4tO_mdgdQjfIB8Uhn4EpS7WddyWl-p1bN2ZhD5QP0oGK9rY5rkZ0DPvFXgMnbIEBlQuZOdAfhLW9VvcBmuoZQqCY8xV1PAawG4KA4WqzDgtP2X8z7uqP1OBSN-_Tsxh3DozM/s320/20150514_082951.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A trick or treat kid with ghost and moon and stars in the sky. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgBs51DMLAwVmFY5gWiekl14GpvrWmj4mlgspMRFJrjdhKTfmw_lIUnO9dx23gC2fJ-3wFq4Jp8gG_XtXDXI6bwLkiqLJslWH0UrLlJEKu7Ew1wWJ3Zh3Ao87JqUFkUWm2KI1ayNR8bs/s1600/20150514_083002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgBs51DMLAwVmFY5gWiekl14GpvrWmj4mlgspMRFJrjdhKTfmw_lIUnO9dx23gC2fJ-3wFq4Jp8gG_XtXDXI6bwLkiqLJslWH0UrLlJEKu7Ew1wWJ3Zh3Ao87JqUFkUWm2KI1ayNR8bs/s320/20150514_083002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This guy is friendly. Always ask your artist to tell you about their art work, for young kids there's usually a great story involved. My kids are proud of their creations when I write the story on the back of their picture. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kNUAIf8lIO67o5BQmVLdjlN_z2TnyWIJ9VGCeCpXc6HFqjU_jxxCkmbcZHYCtUHOw6pRyWYwW3-lQ6Khe_hyphenhyphensJbZXDF_iMy_tOV4oFo1LXQ-jyj8zriMF4zunahP14NPAyIRY6cnaSg/s1600/20150514_083013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kNUAIf8lIO67o5BQmVLdjlN_z2TnyWIJ9VGCeCpXc6HFqjU_jxxCkmbcZHYCtUHOw6pRyWYwW3-lQ6Khe_hyphenhyphensJbZXDF_iMy_tOV4oFo1LXQ-jyj8zriMF4zunahP14NPAyIRY6cnaSg/s320/20150514_083013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This guy is dizzy. The use of lines in art really is natural in kids. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTwFltbOjJX4qX_LMMvKza7uVkCCHIDB0kPBcPZQQD9Lin_27QqB6owQiCXDHuGXNP1WiE_QFJ6mZYHLK5Tm7OPSJN45wQa30pU5IXC-dy_hvSmSTKC21hGsoLm2RBevi4HpwFYEG7sA/s1600/20150514_083024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTwFltbOjJX4qX_LMMvKza7uVkCCHIDB0kPBcPZQQD9Lin_27QqB6owQiCXDHuGXNP1WiE_QFJ6mZYHLK5Tm7OPSJN45wQa30pU5IXC-dy_hvSmSTKC21hGsoLm2RBevi4HpwFYEG7sA/s320/20150514_083024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Another bad one. My kids are very captivated by what makes a person or creature bad, evil, dangerous, or nice. We often have discussions that animals are not mean, they are trying to protect themselves. Art shows us what our kids think about. It is a wonderful stress reliever and a great way to spend time together. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_UZVzbaIAOq4GhF4s_quu_Ul8jJHDpjestj011csIzwRaV8KpXX3gHDI0xs9tHNRucOITnGJxfhHmqhDGa5BjLjPCTmk8kIaBTjgp4Y_bZzoOs4g6kJg8mzUzYI2ElnUswnO3su5tnY/s1600/20150514_083034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_UZVzbaIAOq4GhF4s_quu_Ul8jJHDpjestj011csIzwRaV8KpXX3gHDI0xs9tHNRucOITnGJxfhHmqhDGa5BjLjPCTmk8kIaBTjgp4Y_bZzoOs4g6kJg8mzUzYI2ElnUswnO3su5tnY/s320/20150514_083034.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiBtQhYcmcsvo_sACxg7eZeM-iUTrUxInh6atOPlxpAmpr_Mciy3D_cYbuzc0UDyeLtGY6mbLX5cH63y60esWRGe33yRitP_Q1TtRWbzaCA5E2kk0FVI1f4YhIwux2w7_IPhGPvbZ8VA/s1600/20150514_083045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiBtQhYcmcsvo_sACxg7eZeM-iUTrUxInh6atOPlxpAmpr_Mciy3D_cYbuzc0UDyeLtGY6mbLX5cH63y60esWRGe33yRitP_Q1TtRWbzaCA5E2kk0FVI1f4YhIwux2w7_IPhGPvbZ8VA/s320/20150514_083045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQdCjfiQcBdXBXQy3gbHtxov02vr6hzqE92GqaVQJ8HWWBzpPHvSOlhd1w6flJq4DiNKZ69zP-WffGVsVdoEiw8EiQ66kcodUdRWrOBCez6d0ZI51fDRrnAZQvaXt22wBtClrYD1oLtk/s1600/20150514_083052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQdCjfiQcBdXBXQy3gbHtxov02vr6hzqE92GqaVQJ8HWWBzpPHvSOlhd1w6flJq4DiNKZ69zP-WffGVsVdoEiw8EiQ66kcodUdRWrOBCez6d0ZI51fDRrnAZQvaXt22wBtClrYD1oLtk/s320/20150514_083052.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
" The big house is where we live and the little houses are the neighbors." </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In reality our house is the same size as the neighbors but the size drawn simply indicates that our house is more important to the artist than the neighbors homes. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5hqPhR1DXfkJGEzQZDE_uMwEDGPh8GLy55lnAm29Xft7FR7ajKSsWsHU9obdWlxoYWKyg5aMsEnxIWkrrNQCY0W9XPtrk96sKfISGZfWLJ6wiqVxOS2YQ0mn2CIk2yRzFteVeyeITdc/s1600/20150514_083059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5hqPhR1DXfkJGEzQZDE_uMwEDGPh8GLy55lnAm29Xft7FR7ajKSsWsHU9obdWlxoYWKyg5aMsEnxIWkrrNQCY0W9XPtrk96sKfISGZfWLJ6wiqVxOS2YQ0mn2CIk2yRzFteVeyeITdc/s320/20150514_083059.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mom and puppy. by 4 year old girl who was too impatient to wait for her paint to dry. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQFhySwTeI0wrlxRfJywl60Y1Eg7CGRM5Cg2VkZvuEszIvdZ4t5oGbHaYQzY_6fEhRfdkdN0dBy_A2EkjYcTVQkegmfuoPNd4Vq-vwJJ6_PIVEGdJCLcS4jV6intXanHqxuQn4AkeGCA/s1600/20150523_112926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQFhySwTeI0wrlxRfJywl60Y1Eg7CGRM5Cg2VkZvuEszIvdZ4t5oGbHaYQzY_6fEhRfdkdN0dBy_A2EkjYcTVQkegmfuoPNd4Vq-vwJJ6_PIVEGdJCLcS4jV6intXanHqxuQn4AkeGCA/s320/20150523_112926.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our 15G loves animals and reads, paints and writes stories about animals.</div>
<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/AVvXsEhkWRs0QECWLzF4FacB4EyuYMFu7nws4oN18owDxszXqP-ie_V7A1jJqNUwWlw9PRYImJFVQ_SxZzVZqGC3VortxXfcEtb5_Ryn7Fqf4NIbJgIQ4L8GI5BF2HQ6x9EMaRpSTOlDOTCDoCg/s1600/20150617_074909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWRs0QECWLzF4FacB4EyuYMFu7nws4oN18owDxszXqP-ie_V7A1jJqNUwWlw9PRYImJFVQ_SxZzVZqGC3VortxXfcEtb5_Ryn7Fqf4NIbJgIQ4L8GI5BF2HQ6x9EMaRpSTOlDOTCDoCg/s320/20150617_074909.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-78302635709578507332015-07-12T09:32:00.000-07:002015-07-31T15:33:30.641-07:00Great Grammar, NO worksheets! <div class="defaultFont">
<br />
I've only skimmed grammar with my kids for fear of making them hate it like I did in school. So after coming across these two articles and others on the same theory, I am jumping in. So far it's going well and we have learned great things. Links below two articles I found that I felt inspired by, they feel right for us and so my plan is to teach how to use the grammar and literary devices by having the kids look for them in their writings and from reading good things like the founding father's quotes or children literature or history books. </div>
<div class="defaultFont" data-signatureblock="true">
<div class="defaultFont">
We are starting a notebook with grammar notes and quotes the kids liked from their reading. They will use the grammar notes and mark the quotes they like. It will also include a copy of the English spelling rules (35)(and no I didn't always know there were English spelling rules), and literary devices. They will use this as their reference book as they create it. When they write we are going to look for literary devices in their writing and edit it by adding examples of ld's to their writing as they go. It will become a hard copy of what they have studied and their resource when editing their writing.<br />
Journals are great for free writing, nobody edits or reads them and the kids get to write freely and get their self going. They have written stories, reports, answers to a question of their choice, persuade, teach or argue a point in writing. Everyone should keep a reading journal too. (more about that another day)</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Mom should keep a notebook of everything she’s teaching and learning, I wrote and took notes as I taught the kids and they see me doing it so they know its important, also so I don't have to create lessons from scratch each time for each group of kids I teach. My 3 oldest go together and then 3 others and Henry will be last. The kids can also read, study, or copy my notes. And they do this on their own, they compare it to their notes and decide to add to theirs if needed. We all learn together, this shows them the process of accumulating knowledge from multiple sources and following a natural flow from one source to another. It’s quite amazing and I love it as much as the kids.</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
My school education never felt liberating and exciting, but it was never me choosing what to learn, either. I and every other person on the planet in a public school were told what to learn and told we should like it and not question it either. My hubby says this sounds like the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany.</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
I have found some great websites online, I'll include the links. I also have an English text book for highschool(used at a retired teacher sale) that I can refer to for grammar and sentence structure, but wont make the kids go through the boring exercises, the examples in the text are dead, there’s no feeling and no tie to their world (living knowledge through a real persons writing and reading). </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
The lesson I did last week was fun and the kids loved it, it stuck with us all; it started with metaphors and we read some out of the bible then we discussed chiasmus and looked up passages in the bible and book of Mormon with this literary device, it’s ancient, the Hebrews used it and the whole chapter of Alma 36 is a very complex one. It was a great lesson, we discussed analogies and parables and metaphors/similies from Christ's teachings. The lesson definety struck a chord with us all. There are people who have studied all the literary techniques used in the bible and Book of Mormon and have them on the web. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Once we had this lesson we are seeing them in our scripture reading , “Ye are as the salt of the earth” and when Christ said to the woman at the well, “I am the living water”. I can not think of a more important text to learn about literary devices and why they carry such a strong feel and meaning with them, than in scripture!</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
I'm glad somebody was smart enough to warn against using worksheets and memorizing to learn about our language. Sometimes I wonder if these horrible methods were created on purpose to make us hate learning. Who comes up with such dead ways and then makes it mainstream? It feels like the school system is deliberately pitiful sometimes. <br />
<br />
A fantastic way to teach writing and speaking and grammar skills is through Excellence In Writing by Andrew Pudewa. All of his programs are fun and very through. They are pricey, I've had friends teach classes that my kids attended and I watched all his videos for EIW and they teach very well. Due to prices I would skip paying for Levels A, B and just buy C or even D. They teach slowly and build and repeat in each level so definitely start at C for ages 11 and up. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
h<a href="http://www.jefflindsay.com/chiasmus.shtml" target="_parent">ttp://www.jefflindsay.com/chiasmus.shtml</a> this teaches what a chiasmus is and walks you through identifying it's corresponding parts using Alma Chapter 36</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
<div class="defaultFont">
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/the-wrong-way-to-teach-grammar/284014/" target="_parent">http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/the-wrong-way-to-teach-grammar/284014/</a><br />
<a href="http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/9076-8-tips-for-teaching-grammar-without-a-worksheet" target="_parent">http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/9076-8-tips-for-teaching-grammar-without-a-worksheet</a>-</div>
</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
<a href="http://www.literarydevices.com/chiasmus/" target="_parent">http://www.literarydevices.com/chiasmus/</a></div>
<div class="defaultFont">
<a href="http://www.biblefragrances.com/studies/mat26_26.html" target="_parent">http://www.biblefragrances.com/studies/mat26_26.html</a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-12850836419443523082015-07-11T21:08:00.000-07:002015-07-11T21:08:26.036-07:00Educating Children<div class="defaultFont">
I'll share with you what I like and have come to value in educating my kids and as you begin to learn at home with your kids you will find the path that’s right for your family. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Start slow and steady, don't race or you get burned out and stressed, I know. I’ve seen moms start homeschooling and want to do more faster and they test a lot and work all day and don’t play enough and make it miserable for the kids. Then the kids balk at it and dig in their heels and the mom puts them back in school. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
We are never done learning and the journey is what we are concentrating on, not really the finish line. Progress isn't always seen right away, I’ve been doing this for 10 years and it has flown by and my kids like learning and reading and ask tons of questions and search out answers for themselves. They don't believe what they hear until getting second opinions from other sources when it comes to news and political views, so I think we are on the right track. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Other times moms try too many ideas or too much in a day and they chop and hack away at a lot of things and don't finish any of them. Too much going on makes the vision(your families goals) get blurry. It’s nice to take time to finish something and bask in the moment, rushing on stops things from sinking in. Like praying then jumping up and leaving before you listen to the answer. Let kids have time for projects or learning, and sit and discuss results or what went good or not good. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Another thing I realized recently trying to teach Aaron to read and Collin to write is that they did not want to try when they were worried about doing it wrong. Teach them that mistakes help us learn, if we are afraid to make a mistake we don't progress(a FHE lesson on repentance and how God made a way for us to get rid of spiritual mistakes is like learning and knowledge mistakes, they aren't permanent). The MTC teaches that people learning a language make 80,000 mistakes and they ask the missionaries a question, do you want to make them here and now or out in the field? </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Our kids need to know that mistakes are part of life and to be learned from. You cant skip the learning process, and mistakes are capable of teaching just as fast as successes can. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Also remember that there will always be fine tuning and tweaking going on. I approach it with the attitude that I will always be home teaching and so I will fix and add as we go, I have seen moms start and they say to me , “I’m going to see how it goes, if it doesn't work I’ll put them back in school” and when it’s hard they quit and put kids back in school. My opinion is that they are not fixing their problems they are giving up, I think of it as a marriage, marriages have to be worked on and fixed with effort and trials and pain and joy. If we said, as the world likes to say, “ I’ll try being married and if its too hard we can get a divorce” no one would keep homeschooling. I think of home education this way, that I’m going to stay doing it and make it work.</div>
<div class="defaultFont">
My first tip, because I have to tell myself it daily, is to realize time is limited and you will not get everything done everyday. So what I do is make a list and a schedule and if something gets left off the day before then today we do it first and rotate through so nothing gets missed too many times. Also, I used to put ‘unnecessaries’ last and we’d never do them, so since art is my kids’ favorite we put it first some days and give it as much clout in our schedule as math. Because to be frank, we are homeschooling so we have fun and like life. Once you find your top interest subjects even if its an unnecessary one, don't neglect it. The kids like to know that what they value is worth supporting them in. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Vision- or goals, or plan. Sit with both parents and decide or brain storm about your reasons for home schooling. Write the list down and list what steps to get working on to get the goal met. Keep it and refer to it, use it to keep you on track. There are a lot of good things to learn and like President Uchtdorf spoke about one conference you have to decide between good, better or best. When you have an idea of the plan then have a family session and ask the kids their goals and plans, secular and religious. They will go hand in hand, one example I always give Aaron is that for him to be a great missionary he needs to learn how to read. And everything the kids learn will be taught to their kids and used to serve people around them. Decide how often to review progress, monthly or weekly as needed. Each child can meet with both parents and discuss and review their week. Ask the kids about difficult things and record them and discuss what is going well and record those things too. Keep a notebook of each persons goals and progress. Discuss year goals and 5 and 10 year goals, if you can. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
Being together as a family daily and learning with and from each other is so rewarding and worth every minute of labor and stress. There is nobody in the world better to teach kids than their parents. It requires love and diligence not a college education or math skills or patience. The saddest thing I ever hear, and I do hear it frequently from moms is the statement, " I like my kids at school, they drive me crazy during the summer. I wouldn't be able to stand having them all the time." Home educating is difficult and a lot of days I feel crazy and probably sound crazy but my kids always forgive me and tell me they love me. I don't have to be perfect to teach them, I just have to be willing to try. </div>
<div class="defaultFont">
<br /> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-69114386811178486752015-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:002015-06-30T11:50:21.245-07:00Gross, No Way! Yucky/funny things that happen in a house with kidsMy 6b (six year old boy), was having issues last month getting his fanny clean enough, he's way too big for wanting help from his mommy so I had him change undies and bathe a lot more till he figured out how to wipe. And Grandma made a point one day of telling him and mom that he's using way too much toilet paper and he clogged her toilet. So after too many noses in such a private matter he took it into his head to find a solution. I go into the unlocked bathroom and he's standing on the counter with his bum in the air pointed toward the mirror and his head down at his feet, he's peering between his knees into the reflection in the mirror and he's wiping his tush where he can see if the job's been well done or not! I startle him when I laugh and ask what are you doing? and he twists his head to look at me sideways and says matter of factly, "I'm wiping my bum." So I say in the same every day tone "okay, don't fall off the counter" and go out shutting the door. The image of him folded in half standing on the counter cracks me up every time I think of it. It must have helped him 'cuz that was the end of the issue. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369332041864118405.post-30039840954975245272015-06-24T11:34:00.000-07:002015-06-24T11:35:13.854-07:00Five Delivery Stories, two left for another day!<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My cousin is expecting her second baby and asked for tips or stories on natural births. I thought I'd share 5 of my seven stories, some are short and other deliveries took longer and were scary! Be Brave and be prepared to be surprised, planning a natural birth just means you'd like no drugs and no interference from your medical help. You do need to be prepared to defer to your doctor in emergencies. Hopefully you trust your doctor and he knows you well too. Each delivery was completely different and began with it's own unique details. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My first doctor was amazing, the second was newly practicing and horrible. He was bossy and controlling and did not listen to me. Then I had four with an amazing doctor who retired by the time I had baby number seven. I went to a new doctor and he was nice in office and only laughed when I said I'd like to be here for as few visits as possible. (I saw him or the midwife about 6 times.)I was pleased with the midwife who delivered me, she was very adept during the delivery. However, the nurse was a blessing from heaven, without her I would have been sunk. She got my labor going and took care of me emotionally after and watched me closely to see how I was doing before during and after delivery. </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Attached are my stories as I recorded them at the time. Pictures of my handwritten accounts. And a photo of each new baby. There is nothing more heavenly than a new spirit just come to earth. And with that in mind, I cussed like a sailor during one delivery and managed to do the next with no swearing at all, a major feat but it kept the experience much more spiritual. Who knew I could be in pain and not swear! I'll tell that story later.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">This is baby number four!</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlnmBFuHHHrlXTeRluxAOpbpK-bUgeH_cFpvymyI1NjisEH7OaeLUcREfWvVycndQgZWK5UriPUnapyXrMYTqIl-4pUwypLgRW2NX1SQhfHfb-rP31bMaVHHoNgLaQk4qAvNqVQtHWZY/s1600/20150624_104813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlnmBFuHHHrlXTeRluxAOpbpK-bUgeH_cFpvymyI1NjisEH7OaeLUcREfWvVycndQgZWK5UriPUnapyXrMYTqIl-4pUwypLgRW2NX1SQhfHfb-rP31bMaVHHoNgLaQk4qAvNqVQtHWZY/s320/20150624_104813.jpg" width="180" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPXVGuSeYfUf31Nv8LUr8QEDOmduPKI-xIu3G5f_jG8MqokS1fsxz3JbarTaKMNF4VjawU5R4kh1bjdEfBmLuMcMvJzGSf7B0zlDdIQ3LBH5eTWPuR8BaK7gQFtOSo4oKnl1kv5TiNuw/s1600/20150623_121334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPXVGuSeYfUf31Nv8LUr8QEDOmduPKI-xIu3G5f_jG8MqokS1fsxz3JbarTaKMNF4VjawU5R4kh1bjdEfBmLuMcMvJzGSf7B0zlDdIQ3LBH5eTWPuR8BaK7gQFtOSo4oKnl1kv5TiNuw/s1600/20150623_121334.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jqDu5fnFZxMn0owRJxbnTYxMU-MfcloECs2m8uZhE_fCvDqc7gedXNoyzNepRTXeS5lNY0J3LIMtiKZUXkL4irB0Uba8UnJljtpVjE9pSJ7PsTfNJICMwSVsZ3oNP9z7xbJHpRVOatM/s1600/20150623_121429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jqDu5fnFZxMn0owRJxbnTYxMU-MfcloECs2m8uZhE_fCvDqc7gedXNoyzNepRTXeS5lNY0J3LIMtiKZUXkL4irB0Uba8UnJljtpVjE9pSJ7PsTfNJICMwSVsZ3oNP9z7xbJHpRVOatM/s1600/20150623_121429.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Baby #3. Two Girls and now a Boy! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5wQzZdgdp9d-EjVtq02E5u6frU_-OmZjT0GhbXnBqnPuD65nn7toEvWdw0Sy3sON5pip4ML37SRSRShybE2W5wY2p4JdptkvqSy7t32JlEdcqLFAJTv0JaLyarTZFWpHNgRMSkqEJ2M/s1600/20150624_104625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5wQzZdgdp9d-EjVtq02E5u6frU_-OmZjT0GhbXnBqnPuD65nn7toEvWdw0Sy3sON5pip4ML37SRSRShybE2W5wY2p4JdptkvqSy7t32JlEdcqLFAJTv0JaLyarTZFWpHNgRMSkqEJ2M/s320/20150624_104625.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">Spiders, dogs and siblings better get ready.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">This guy at age 8 was caught beginning to insert a straw up his sisters' nose. He wanted to see what would happen, as shocked as I was I laughed and told him strictly to experiment on himself from now on. He squinted at me and I told him that when they preserve mummies in Eqypt that they would pull all the brains out through the nose. He frowned and said he didn't think it would hurt he just wanted to see how far up the straw could go. I explained it would cause a really big head ache. He promptly got up from his straddling position over his sisters' rib cage and she toddled off.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;">(delivery story with page two and three a family story that you can skip)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EUXas3dgSwNGwRPNv2LTVQi6XTkjBfgupnZyS0030aKk6wH_1JA9eTCFds_SkxNcC_uMxvKJ_QEP_nEKzMeJrYdRRkMjVtnjx7lWR4bCQbqQSrhXfu1qJpnZ0_Y0-DE02z8lvDVWRag/s1600/20150623_121748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EUXas3dgSwNGwRPNv2LTVQi6XTkjBfgupnZyS0030aKk6wH_1JA9eTCFds_SkxNcC_uMxvKJ_QEP_nEKzMeJrYdRRkMjVtnjx7lWR4bCQbqQSrhXfu1qJpnZ0_Y0-DE02z8lvDVWRag/s1600/20150623_121748.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyI__XtZkkkxnGDptCcGOu5fmEnWg-s66iK-LzO3_E6jQWcFTx17nRWb0ZtOh5f45l11vEkFS_XQZTsNqyys0fKi9jflA3ZugqIQzwUEpuxcMSL8RRNTO8i4tTFOo_H_XFN3nLRvOia0/s1600/20150623_121800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyI__XtZkkkxnGDptCcGOu5fmEnWg-s66iK-LzO3_E6jQWcFTx17nRWb0ZtOh5f45l11vEkFS_XQZTsNqyys0fKi9jflA3ZugqIQzwUEpuxcMSL8RRNTO8i4tTFOo_H_XFN3nLRvOia0/s1600/20150623_121800.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiwGJ0DsKKQfSPHB5eMFVaZeO6KFUE2cxzGFRQ-hIjHil0iFprwWwuZ18VUO5wMOlEDrg6bUgDUK5_uKyhR_D_58EBDcGo4xgjrldqBNhM-KJmeYLKPClInY1n2-ng6VETgX1-MU-eXc/s1600/20150623_121955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiwGJ0DsKKQfSPHB5eMFVaZeO6KFUE2cxzGFRQ-hIjHil0iFprwWwuZ18VUO5wMOlEDrg6bUgDUK5_uKyhR_D_58EBDcGo4xgjrldqBNhM-KJmeYLKPClInY1n2-ng6VETgX1-MU-eXc/s1600/20150623_121955.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuEYK6x9pVOpq5H6g249k5ynQwX6CXELLPFNc-MyPgDwa8fFWYUBasOr8xuF_rDjh-dfVGnTCcMdrit9MbLUaD21vACkreuTp0A0ZKEPls9VFJ0wjmgthfAtEU2n5Os9VFbxFmuurFyk/s1600/20150623_122008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuEYK6x9pVOpq5H6g249k5ynQwX6CXELLPFNc-MyPgDwa8fFWYUBasOr8xuF_rDjh-dfVGnTCcMdrit9MbLUaD21vACkreuTp0A0ZKEPls9VFJ0wjmgthfAtEU2n5Os9VFbxFmuurFyk/s1600/20150623_122008.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsj67I8xBC4f8VQNNtlOYLTf6buo6R0cryFsNv9Vzs0OvM7E3MtT1QIqOqYikEF986PGcclhVkDBYWbEwOJRLujAc7Im05-2CY4hwZFco-cpqNtIjptQUNRQ1mAanzLqOxPs0ltw1XUY/s1600/20150623_122021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsj67I8xBC4f8VQNNtlOYLTf6buo6R0cryFsNv9Vzs0OvM7E3MtT1QIqOqYikEF986PGcclhVkDBYWbEwOJRLujAc7Im05-2CY4hwZFco-cpqNtIjptQUNRQ1mAanzLqOxPs0ltw1XUY/s1600/20150623_122021.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r33WZk5uD3AeeGyQKqRX02jibPld5MC3KbJhzfK-B2pzqWWg_ERGPonsuxIAKNCLSCi6s-X2sr9cGqMoSZ6rafe26VkFntziqCPlQSCpSt2ugAh_GZ7QTrZHTPG1RTbaXKUd5H41glE/s1600/20150623_122035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r33WZk5uD3AeeGyQKqRX02jibPld5MC3KbJhzfK-B2pzqWWg_ERGPonsuxIAKNCLSCi6s-X2sr9cGqMoSZ6rafe26VkFntziqCPlQSCpSt2ugAh_GZ7QTrZHTPG1RTbaXKUd5H41glE/s1600/20150623_122035.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Baby number 5.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLpfsHHeQR6kRNMsGBJT3HyotG6irJZh8XXefocZvrkm6b-vwW4AxIwOKcpjvYPM15QK6qsxgYRMx-k5q946faEFnBCWtxJyUhmBREXB433CSx9uBPEKYbrzFjo9tmd4cyucdLHuAJjo/s1600/20150624_105028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLpfsHHeQR6kRNMsGBJT3HyotG6irJZh8XXefocZvrkm6b-vwW4AxIwOKcpjvYPM15QK6qsxgYRMx-k5q946faEFnBCWtxJyUhmBREXB433CSx9uBPEKYbrzFjo9tmd4cyucdLHuAJjo/s320/20150624_105028.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrz6oTqpOUJB6ExcTLXdY0jP787HM6C6kIaE1RIUL1yFVR3zSvywb_LUHnPjVfPruRoxtW8VwK-gGSQf2lKrFruzzWQhQDq_79u8hQqhmciofIijhbVrzCqAkJD_qLyA6CtW9Fi3Iihkw/s1600/20150623_123239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrz6oTqpOUJB6ExcTLXdY0jP787HM6C6kIaE1RIUL1yFVR3zSvywb_LUHnPjVfPruRoxtW8VwK-gGSQf2lKrFruzzWQhQDq_79u8hQqhmciofIijhbVrzCqAkJD_qLyA6CtW9Fi3Iihkw/s1600/20150623_123239.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPvB5y5C54ncjcjMmLrUS-1k5IxsEHbZqCRbGpWSNN8jAagz0iMJ_PnlGf8htOLm-jhl_fuPf7_Kn0JoI0jQZ9EEqsIihyphenhyphen1WJmLHZ3zUN7cyZ8vgiinanBv8ighHf32ujtJuxhRjScTo/s1600/20150623_123405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPvB5y5C54ncjcjMmLrUS-1k5IxsEHbZqCRbGpWSNN8jAagz0iMJ_PnlGf8htOLm-jhl_fuPf7_Kn0JoI0jQZ9EEqsIihyphenhyphen1WJmLHZ3zUN7cyZ8vgiinanBv8ighHf32ujtJuxhRjScTo/s1600/20150623_123405.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Baby number ONE! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwJyrlE6daIQYVGI4EYDwZENaJjjDinSgcY6tvUciiAXtblXSom9PH1AJLPOcQk933ueiy54xkfHHVJV_n7TC6Rbuf5bG72h7z7d2dodbaVuOrYg8xJzYLlHK4lT1za15afOuXWLvddY/s1600/20150624_104521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwJyrlE6daIQYVGI4EYDwZENaJjjDinSgcY6tvUciiAXtblXSom9PH1AJLPOcQk933ueiy54xkfHHVJV_n7TC6Rbuf5bG72h7z7d2dodbaVuOrYg8xJzYLlHK4lT1za15afOuXWLvddY/s320/20150624_104521.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I0ZCp5LGznCVUC2QaJZ_p2w3a5N9JIyzSek6szruSwRy36ueUcgunq5KCLo6XlY0QT-45kldt8mosBfeo3uwBldHGRdsWZo69kCyAjEwCbSEHRqU1iLCarAb3CSLW2wYURaHBcKqMZY/s1600/20150623_123834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I0ZCp5LGznCVUC2QaJZ_p2w3a5N9JIyzSek6szruSwRy36ueUcgunq5KCLo6XlY0QT-45kldt8mosBfeo3uwBldHGRdsWZo69kCyAjEwCbSEHRqU1iLCarAb3CSLW2wYURaHBcKqMZY/s1600/20150623_123834.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> This is baby number 2. </span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQXbfKCCQQ06nUZpTD9KLrrbuDg1JJM9i2jMwzgu5PKEMNHP8-aocAhdpTDJyg_PP6oxqT5KPtsxDN24v-Dhza2cG_6lWWf4ZY-bLbT_yr5W5cXM0mg-ybOV_ENuXrIceKgFPnh4rNlo/s1600/20150624_104421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQXbfKCCQQ06nUZpTD9KLrrbuDg1JJM9i2jMwzgu5PKEMNHP8-aocAhdpTDJyg_PP6oxqT5KPtsxDN24v-Dhza2cG_6lWWf4ZY-bLbT_yr5W5cXM0mg-ybOV_ENuXrIceKgFPnh4rNlo/s320/20150624_104421.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We found out with the first three babies what the sex was. Then once we had the </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
two girls and a boy my husband said we should be surprised with the next one. I agreed, I always like a surprise, or so I thought, it was really hard for me because I felt less attached not knowing the gender. But after seeing him of course I was just as in love immediately as ever. So the next three we were also surprised and it's like getting a gift after a hard won battle so I looked forward to it each time. Plus everyone is dying to know what it is so when you call or text your entire phonebook the suspense of not knowing the sex is a great surprise for all the family.</div>
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI4aVkmi3VzuEmGWr7xd35PlBawapNDQk7f46PbgqkaaHPQVQp4qd1XTqSHsJW5A53P_Br9FqR6ZuAAI-5WvfKMgHznsmi7N1yFMaRpTLJLyJ4nJIA1JoDs-gTb_y38O8Q1L5k_MsEWo/s1600/20150623_124506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI4aVkmi3VzuEmGWr7xd35PlBawapNDQk7f46PbgqkaaHPQVQp4qd1XTqSHsJW5A53P_Br9FqR6ZuAAI-5WvfKMgHznsmi7N1yFMaRpTLJLyJ4nJIA1JoDs-gTb_y38O8Q1L5k_MsEWo/s1600/20150623_124506.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9c6pkgs5vjfIt9ZVzGGSQ7FCD7xC3cgIenw_k36XJOy5CkP3SstK3h3AqDhoi8zE9Bl0gzV5z9rkzKVTc-AyDoe-8BRmXNmWIqxGeICI7UXrYh3rQ9L2cADvNyFH1D-td84wDpBgkKNY/s1600/20150623_124555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9c6pkgs5vjfIt9ZVzGGSQ7FCD7xC3cgIenw_k36XJOy5CkP3SstK3h3AqDhoi8zE9Bl0gzV5z9rkzKVTc-AyDoe-8BRmXNmWIqxGeICI7UXrYh3rQ9L2cADvNyFH1D-td84wDpBgkKNY/s1600/20150623_124555.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543703844124375201noreply@blogger.com0