New

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

~Lamentations 3:21-25

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

~2 Corinthians 5:17

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

~Ezekiel 36:26-27

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I pray 2012 holds abundant blessings for you and yours.

Great Wolf Lodge

At the beginning of December we took a two night mini family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH and the kids had an absolute blast! We were celebrating Jordan and Carson's birthday, and were joined the second night by Jason's brother and his family to celebrate our sweet niece Tora's birthday. The kids adore their cousins Tora and Caden, and it was so fun spending time with all of them that even after three days the kids still didn't want to leave. Here are some pics of the fun!

Jordan & Tora

Carson & Caden

Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas and although we were busy we really enjoyed seeing all of our family.

The third weekend in December we traveled up to Mansfield on Saturday for my dad's family's annal Christmas party. We saw my grandma, step-mom, aunts, uncles, cousins (I have 15), and all of their families.

Then on Sunday we traveled down to Circleville to celebrate Christmas with my mom, Jan, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew.

On Christmas Eve we went to Canal Winchester to celebrate with my step-mom, Debby, and on our way home we stopped in Hilliard to visit Jason's grandparents (his grandpa is 93!). We were home for about 15 minutes and then turned right around and left again to attend the Christmas Eve service at church.

On Christmas day we spent the day relaxing at home, and my mom and Jan came up to visit and eat Christmas dinner with us.

Finally, on Monday, we drove to Hilliard to celebrate with Jason's parents, brothers, and their families.

Whew, I'm exhausted just from all the traveling! I may need a vacation to recover, but in the meantime here are some pictures from all the fun.

At Grammy & GramJan's in

Circleville with cousin Tyler

Their big gift from Aunt Weazie, Uncle Greg,

and Tyler was a trampoline!

At home on Christmas morning

This is probably Carson's favorite gift; it

is really fun and he has spent hours playing with it 

(if you have boys I highly recommend it)

Corinne and her new doll bunk bed

Jordan and her doll clothes

What a great Christmas!

Thoughtful Thursday {Best Buddies}

I love that these three are such sweet friends. They get along so great together and I know they love each other so much! I truly believe that they are such good friends becasue they spend so much time together - (ha!) like 24/7 since we homeschool :)

I pray that they will always be there for each other and will be best friends their whole lives.

Recently Read & Recommend

I typically decide to read a book based on a friend or family member's recommendation, and the first thing I do is visit Amazon's website and read the book's reviews. The second thing I do is borrow the book from the library (or the friend who recommended it) because I almost never buy a book unless I have read it or at least looked at/skimmed it in hand.

Several friends recommended the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp at our last homeschool support meeting. I remembered having heard of this book and that I had considered reading it about a year ago. Per my usual routine I had looked at the book on Amazon's website and discovered it had received 3.5 stars (out of 5) and had gotten some mixed reviews - lots of people loved and lots disliked it, and although I don't make my decision to read or not read a book based on the Amazon reviews (there are several books that I love that have gotten mixed reviews and less than 4 stars on Amazon) I decided not to read it at the time. So, when several close friends, who I dearly love and respect, recommended it I decided it was time to read it and judge for myself. And the verdict is....

I LOVED IT! If you are a Christian parent and you have not read it I highly recommend that you do so. It has so much great information that I can't even begin to give a synopsis. The main controversy over this book is that the author advocates spanking, and while I am not anti-spanking I do not entirely agree with him on every point regarding spanking. I do, however, think that the book overall is excellent and a wonderful resource.

Bottom line: I bought the book!

Our Favorite Games

A list of some of our favorite games! Some we've had for several years and others for only a few days, but here are the top six that we love 'cause they're FUN.

Castle Logix
by Smart/Tangoes USA
1 player
Ages 2-8

Candyland

by Hasbro

2-4 players

Ages 3+

Blokus

by Mattel

2-4 players

Ages 6+

Rat-A-Tat-Cat

by Gamewright

2-6 players

Ages 6+

Qwirkle

by MindWare

2-4 players

Ages 6+

Q-bitz

by MindWare

2-4 players

Ages 8+

Choir Concert

Earlier this month Jordan and Carson sang in the Central Ohio Christian Homeschool Chorus' annual concert. They both did a fantastic job and everyone had a great time!

The kids before we left for the concert:

Jordan with one of her best friends, Abbi:

For Unto Us a Child is Born

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

~Isaiah 9:6     

I Just Wanted a 3 Column Blog

So today I decided that I wanted my blog to have three columns instead of two - you know the kind where the blog posts are in the middle and you have 'stuff' on either side. Well, this small change turned into a multi-hour project and by the end of the ordeal I was exhausted. The first thing I discovered was that to have a three column blog I needed to change my blog layout. OK, I thought, I can handle that. I go into the blogger settings and find where I can change the blog layout, I choose the three column style, and apply the change...and disaster strikes!

The brown background I had before doesn't work with the three column blog layout! OK, fine, I will just change my background. After all, I've had the same background for awhile now and a change might be nice. I go to the website where I found my previous background and look for a new one that I like that will work with a three column blog. I find a nice purple one (my favorite color) and switch the code on my blog for the background...but the saga continues.

The template I had been using doesn't work with the new background, and I discover that since the last time I changed backgrounds blogger has updated and changed all their templates. It takes me half an hour to figure out which template will work with the new background, and once I do I realize that I don't like the way the blog title looks with the new template. So I go back to the site where I found the background and find a banner that I like, but the banner doesn't match the background I had chosen (of course). I decide to search for a banner that does match, but discover that they don't make one. They do, however, make a background to match the banner I like so I decide to use that background instead (its pink though which is definitely not one of my favorite colors, but I decide to just go with it). I get the background switched again, and set to work on the banner.

Fifteen minutes later the banner title is on and I realize that the new template's default setting is to align the blog title/header/banner all the way to left, instead of centered, and it looks terrible (and was driving me crazy). I go on a search to find out how to center the header/blog title and another fifteen minutes later that's done. I preview the blog and find a few other minor formatting, font, and color issues so I find fixes for and tinker around with those, and an hour later I'm finally happy with the overall look.

Then I discover that there are heading tabs (I didn't have any before) that match my background and banner so I get those and add them to my blog. Next, I mess around with the gadgets on my blog and arrange everything the way I want it, but in the process I find that the width of the sidebars won't accommodate some of my gadgets, so I have to go back to the template and adjust the widths and then move a few of the gadgets that still won't fit.

Finally, I survey my ALL NEW blog and decide that it looks great, but that it really isn't me. I'm not a pink and black with bows type of person, and while I like the new look (and will not be changing it anytime soon) I've already found a background and banner that I like better (and are much more me), so the next time I have a few hours to spare (ha-as if!) my blog will be getting another face lift. In the meantime, if you are a pink and black with bows type of person please enjoy the new look!

Thoughtful Thursday

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

~Luke 2:8-14

Thoughtful Thursday

I Caught Your Faith
~Anonymous

I saw you stand
bravely for years
But saw no trace
of senseless tears

I saw you stand
calmly through stress
But caught no glimpse
of bitterness

I saw you stand
prayerful in grief
but saw no trace
of unbelief

Though you spoke well
of Jesus Christ
I caught your faith
watching your life.

She's 9!

She's our firstborn and therefore our parenting Guinea pig.

She has a sweet and tender heart.

She loves reading and art.

She dislikes math.

She enjoys singing, dancing, and playing the piano.

She's almost as tall as her mom.

She was born 9 years ago today and that means...
She's 9!

If anyone can tell me how I blinked and 9 years flew by I would really appreciate it.

The Weight of Your Afflictions

~From a sermon by Scott Brown~

The presence of your afflictions are not according to chance.

The timing of your afflictions are all part of God’s pre-ordained plan to sum up all things in Christ.

The weight of your afflictions are carefully measured, to bring you forth as gold.

The number of your afflictions are strategically appointed, to buffet you enough to change you.

The length of your afflictions will be no shorter or longer than what pleases God, in order to enlarge your patience.

The outcome of your afflictions are designed to address a God-glorifying end.

The arms which brought the afflictions will hold you through them.


You can listen to the sermon in its entirety here.

Thoughtful Thursday

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

~Jim Elliot

7 on the 7th

Happy 7th Birthday to our sweet boy! I don't know where the time has gone, but I do know that we love you more ever year.

Thoughtful Thursday

Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.

~Proverbs 4:23