Q&A

I just looked and I have 123 followers??? And I only know 34 of them personally some I just met once or twice or know from a friend of a friend and some knew me from high school (which I'm sure they follow just because they can't believe (me)a dumb blonde cheerleader is teaching her kids) LOL.... anyway, I am so thankful and SHOCKED that you all like to read my blog. My ramblings of a wanna be writer. I thank you for reading this despite my misspelled words and bad grammar. I just want to say thank you for all your kind comments and emails. If you read this blog and aren't a follower just hit follow and I'd love to check out your blog too:)
I thought I'd do something fun...a Q&A. You ask me a question in the comment section and I'll do a post of answering them. Even if you know me or knew me from before this might be fun to find out something you don't know about me. Now ask away don't be shy:)
Anonymous are welcome too:) but be nice:)

Memorial Day and Homeschool Fair

Daddy had to work on Memorial Day but we called and begged him to come home early and it worked....
The girls excited daddy's home!


I just love taking pictures of Farrah running....



Can you tell?

And little Miss Finn crawling...




She is always so serious...it's very hard to get her to smile. She is just taking everything in...
I love how she always sits with her little feet crossed at the ankle.



Daddy finally got a smile out of her and I snapped away!




I love my girls!!!....

I would of been happy just relaxing in our backyard taking pictures of them all day:) but we headed off to the homeschool fair for a little bit (thanks to Krystyn for reminding me)


We got some learning in too....



Then my lovely boys entered a pie eating contest....
Austin took 2nd place




And here's Landen, hands behind back, hat backwards and determined to win......




the crowd was chanting..eat.eat.eat.eat! Landen kept digging his face in like a pig..I was sooo proud LOL (not really)


Landen never even came up for a breath...but the girl next to him looked a little sick haha...again, why do I think this stuff is so funny!


And the winner for the pie eating contest is......Landen!
Hey, we all have our own talents!



Lucky me we even get to go home with our very own meal worms:)


We finished the weekend off with a BBQ at our house and great nana and papa came to join us:)

Jesus Freaks At Spirit West Coast!

We took the kids to Spirit West Coast and we all had a blast rockin out to our favorite bands.

Be on the lookout for this up and coming band.......(they don't have a name yet) but they wanted me to take some pictures for the front of their album. haha They can't decide between these two:).


It was a long day and pretty expensive (lets just say we could of gone to Disneyland a couple times)..but we feel it is so worth it to take our kids to things like this especially as they get older.
Nothing beats your kids worshiping and acting like total Jesus Freaks LOL...love it!


I've said it before and I'll say it again I could care less if my kids are cool or popular. I don't care if they are big dorks, I just want them to be on fire for the Lord...but in my case my kids are cool and and fire:) haha!
Aut with his Toby Mac hat on:)


In fact their so cool they break danced for Addison Road


that's Aut breaking out the robot..haha

Everyone loved Landen because he was so little trying to do what the big boys were doing.

So proud of him:) opps don't smash Finley

Faith got up front with her fav band Barlow Girl





Taking a break...(me trying to hide and not draw too much attention as I try and nurse Finley between bands) like Phil Wickham
and Stellar Kart



We all got to listen to the most AMAZING man talk. He's 26yrs old born with out arms or legs.


We ended the night with our kids favorite...Toby Mac!
Here's Landen going crazy in the stands...I was too. I love Toby Mac. He has so much energy.

Mr. Toad'sTortoise WildSlow Ride

This is J.D. our Tortoise...
Farrah thought she would go up to him and ask him for a ride.

So she jumped on his shell.....



and then yelled at him to go faster!



these are just a few of the many pictures I took over the long 3day weekend (which I will post later when all these rug rats are in bed)....but I had to stop in to announce the winner of the book so I thought I'd share these pictures of Farrah yelling at J.D. while I was at it. haha...
Congrats to Kallie on winning the book and also congratulations on baby #2 being on the way!!! How exciting!
Please email me your address so I can get that book right out to you.
carlsbadryan@aol.com
I will be doing another book giveaway very soon:)

Happy Memorial Day

Most kids don't even know why they have today off. I make sure my kids know exactly why we have today off and what Memorial Day is.
We thank all the men and women and their families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom!!! We pray for the soldiers who are fighting for us today.
Last week we went over some things about the Civil War and read some stories about Children in the Civil War.
We also studied the red poppy and why it was important. The tradition of the red poppy has become a formality of Memorial Day which is often overlooked now days.

Ok, listen up class...Bridget's teaching LOL...
The poppy has become the flower symbol for the Memorial Day Holiday. From the poem, written by Canadian physician and soldier John McCrae,


In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

John McCrae, 1915.

The poppy represents the blood shed by soldiers during times of war. Although the poem was written by McCrae, the poppy was first recognized as the Memorial Day flower in 1915 when a woman by the name of Moina Michael began to sell poppies in an effort to encourage further recognition of the day. Michael helped to begin the National Poppy movement and to commemorate her efforts a 3-cent stamp was created in her honor.

The poppy, by nature, is a wildflower. It’s seed will lie stagnant in the ground until it is disturbed. During times of war, soldiers would churn the ground as they marched though fields. The result was a beautiful and overabundant growth of poppy flowers found to flourish in conditions where most other flowers would die. Also during war, poppies were often used by physicians in administering morphine ...wow, I didn't know this....
So, we hung our American flag proudly and the kids made a little poppy wreath for our front door and I was busy planting poppies in our garden...After finding out that poppy seed capsules contain morphine and codeine. haha (I'm kidding)



Another poem I thought was cool.....

Go look in on your children still asleep
within their bed.
Remind yourself they’re safe and warm
because of some long dead.

Go for a walk through cemeteries
lined with little flags.
Take time to ponder homebound heroes
flown in body bags.

Go stand between those granite stones
engraved with names and dates.
Imagine all who died defending
our United States.

Go on and kneel beside a marker
offering a prayer
with gratitude for those who gave their lives
defeating terror.

Go home and count your blessings
from the hands of those now gone.
Then vow to the Almighty that their
mem’ry will live on.
By Greg Asimakoupoulos

Also if you check my side bar you will see the Call2Fall button...check that out!

I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this Truth, that God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?
Benjamin Franklin , Motion for Prayers in the Constitutional Convention – June 28, 1787

I'll leave the contest of the book open for the rest of the day...I'll announce the winner tonight. I'm off to enjoy a day with my family because I can and have the freedom to:)

Leading Little Ones To God....Giveaway!!!

Growing up I always knew I wanted children, but I also wanted to be something "big". Someone famous or someone who made a lot of money. (Actually I wanted to be a figure skater and if that didn't work out I wanted to take over Vanna Whites job on the tv show Wheel Of Fortune. I was hoping when she got too old I could take over and wear all the pretty dresses,smile big and be a letter turner. Simple right? haha...

Just something other than the normal stay at home mom. I had big dreams and always would worry about what I was going to be when I grew up. I would always stress about what I was going to be when I grew up. I would tell my mom," I don't know what I want to be or what to do in life." She would always tell me that God has a purpose and a plan for my life and that I just needed to trust in him and he would give me the desires of my heart.
When ABC didn't call and my skating days were over I often doubted that God had big plans or even significant plans for me. How could He use me? I often struggled with this. I became pregnant at a young age and thought my "big dream days" were over. I was just a SAHM, I could be doing so much more with my life. I tend to think big. Please don't get me wrong I love my kids and I love being a mommy to them but sometimes I wondered if I could be doing other things in my life besides changing diapers all day and doing dishes etc. I have a lot of questions like. . .What am I doing day in and day out? What is my purpose here on earth? Am I making a difference? Does what I do matter? What kind of legacy will I leave?
God is finally showing me that he has a specific plan for me. I am right where he wants me to be. It says in the Ephesians 2:10, that He “created us to do good things. He planned for us long ago.”

A quote from George Barna: "Our children will define the future, which makes them our most significant and enduring legacy. After all, God never told his followers to take over the world through force or intelligence. He simply told us to have children and then raise them to honor God in all they do."

Now, that I am a mommy x5 I am overwhelmed with these precious children that God has placed in my life and in my care. They are the closest tangible thing to God. These little people are made in God’s image, in the Creator of the Universe’s image! Imagine that! He knows them better than I will ever know them, He loves them more than I will ever love them, and He has a greater plan for them than I could ever even fathom. They are His creation. He knew them before creation. He had them in mind when He created the earth.

I am so glad that God is in control of my life. I am so thankful that he has given me the desires of my heart to have a big family even when I didn't know that's what I wanted. I would want nothing more than to be home with my kids. I don't care if I am "just a stay at home mommy" a nobody in the worlds eye's. I am big to God. He has big plans for me.
God is already using me! I am already making a difference for eternity. I am fulfilling my purpose by being a mommy and taking care of one of God’s most prized creations!
I take my job serious and I am happy and wouldn't have my life any other way. I love that God chose me to lead these little ones to him:)

(that is a pic of Faith on her 1st bday learning to walk. She is holding my hand and daddy's hand. I love that pic!)
ok, now that I rambled on....
I wanted to do a book giveaway. I am going on my 3rd year of homeschooling now and I must confess I have an addiction to books! We have read some of the most amazing books this last year. I thought I would do a giveaway of some of the books we are reading. I know your family will enjoy and learn from them as much as we have. I am going to start out with a book that I use for bible (for the little ones) I read it mostly to Landen (age 3) and Farrah (age 2) I find it appropriate for ages 3-9. Although my older children 7yrs and 9 yrs "already know this stuff" I still like to review such important principles during these formative years. It explains some pretty heavy duty theological concepts in an easy way.
Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schoolland has caused the kids and I to get into some great discussions.
I highly recommend it to all parents who want to lead their little ones to know Christ.
So, here is your chance to win yourself a copy of this great book. Just leave a comment and tell me what you wanted to be growing up? I will choose the winner via random.org on Monday. Have a great Weekend:)



p.s. Simple Wonders was nice enough to send me diffent types of cloth diapers to try out:)I got them in the mail today and I plan to use them this next week and do a review for you all. Then I will pick which one I liked best and we will do a cloth diaper giveaway here on this blog next Friday!!!!!!

Homeschool Herb Nerds!

I don't know about you but I'm feeling pretty guilty after reading blogs like MckMama and 4little men and girly twins. My fridge is not full of organic free range eggs or homemade raw peanut butter etc. But I sure am inspired to feed our family better.
My New Year's resolution this year was to grow a garden, eat better and feed my family better home cooked meals all the time. Well, it's what May and I'm happy to say I'm finally on week 2 of healthy home cooked meals:) This is huge people! My garden is growing and I'm (trying) to eat better and learn more about food. My new thing is herbs. I love herbs! So this week (in school) the kids and I have been hanging outside in our herb garden learning about herbs:)
Herbs are filled with rich histories. They have a variety of uses in the garden and elsewhere. The herb garden can be used as a tool for learning about history, cooking, crafts, and more.

We talked about history and the fragrances of many herbs. How they were once used to mask unattractive odours, keeping the home and even one’s body smelling fresh. These are still used today in items like perfume, potpourri, lotion, etc. We are growing herbs like rosemary, chamomile, lavender, thyme, and mint.

Today Faith is working on some potpourri sachets by placing dried herbs in fabric pouches. We dried the herbs all week and now they are completely dry. The kids are crushing them and then they will place them in the pouches and tie them with a fancy bow.
We then traveled back in time to learn about herbs and how they were used in different time periods. For example the Victorian era, the middle Ages, etc. How and why were herbs of that time important? What were their uses? This could be geared toward one specific use like for culinary purposes or for a variety of purposes such as remedies, cosmetics, crafts, food, etc.
Before there were food stores or even nearby medical facilities, people had to rely on other methods for seasoning foods or curing sickness. Many herbal remedies were also once used for treating anything from common colds and other illnesses to wounds and rashes. In many cultures, such herbal practices still exist.

I plan to take the kids to a herb garden or nature trail to go on a scavenger hunt.
I'll have them run around and try to locate herbs that have a specific smell or taste, like mint or onion. I'll have them try and find an herb that is used in a specific recipe, like oregano or parsley. I think it would be fun to have them find herbs that I give clues to like, what herb is useful for treating minor cuts and burns? This, of course, would be aloe. Can you find an herb that is used for repelling insects? Garlic and spearmint are good choices. What herb was once used as a hair tonic for covering grey? That would be sage. As there are so many different uses and characteristics of herbs, the possibilities can be endless. I'm learning so much! The only herb I learned about in school was...ok, never mind.