Me and my 3 kids

2011 in a nutshell

Getting Ready for Next Year

We have had a lot of changes recently. Moved due to hubby promotion, rented our home, adjusted from single family home to apartment living with kids.  We do love the new area and are trying to go to a different park each week.  But, now is for getting on a really good 'learning' schedule for next year!  I want to incorporate our learning time into our daily activities.  Like, maybe nutrition talk during snack time?  Learning body parts during exercise/wiggle time.  We will do a proverb a day according to the day of the week. I am so excited to get the learning/morning wall up for the new year!   Also, my hubby is leaning more toward FULL home school w/out supplemental schooling in the public school system.  I need to remember that anything is possible with Gods help!  Lord please give me the patience to raise up my children according to your Word.  I need patience, perseverance, kindness, slowness to anger, the ability to calm my tongue when I want to yell! :) :)  I feel this can be done if I do stick to a schedule and get organized!  There are so many options out there for curriculum that I am going to just use our school district or standard guidelines for what a pre-k and kinder should know and go from there.  We have a great library and I am teaching Hannah to read so that should be fun!  As far as the girls only being home-schooled, some may worry that they will not get 'outside' influence or be good 'socially'???  I am sure that will not happen, I do take them out in public.  Also, AWANA is a great club for learning and interacting, weekly story time at the Library w/ crafts, Sunday School, MOPS twice a month and outings.  Also, extra curricular activities; the girls will each have a dance class this coming semester, Hannah in Ballet, and Sarah in pre-dance.  Well, this kind of went off on a tangent.... I was just 'writting' since it had been a while! :)  Now to put all these plans into action!!!!

God's Promise

The view from our deck.  We have had so many Rainbows recently, or have I just been noticing them recently?  Well, it is sad to admit that when I look at this, the first thing that comes to my mind is, 'oh, look a rainbow, and a double one at that'... BUT, when Hannah my 4 1/2 year old sees this, the first thing she says is, "look mom, It's GOD's PROMISE! Mom, GOD's PROMISE!" Oh how wonderful! That is why we are told to have faith like a child... I am learning so much from my children as they learn the Word of God. May my first thoughts turn toward HIM, the great I AM!

Our day trip to Mueller State Park

What a wonderful day we had last Saturday.  The night before I packed a nice lunch, some ham and roast beef sandwiches, peeled oranges, nutter butter bars, fruit snacks, graham crackers, juice and water.  Then we drove up to Divide, Co and paid $7.00 for a day pass at Mueller State Park.  It was a nice little place.  We stopped at the visitor center and watched a 30 minute video on bears.  It was pretty cool, learned the history of the 'teddy bear' and saw several different types of bears, one that sucks up ants like an ant eater... lol... funny looking thing. The kids really enjoyed it. Then we got free little coloring book pamphlets, and we got to go around the little museum in the visitors center and fill in the 'tracks'.  We had chalk and got to make a 'print' of the tracks left behind by several animals, sheep, deer, rabbits, etc...   We had our picnic at one of the little areas, a lot of birds around and animal droppings but no bear...  thankfully. :)  After having our lunch, Brian Sr. took Hannah and Sarah on a little hike, but there was not much flat terrain for the girls to walk on.  Plus, we did not stop at the childrens little lake area, maybe our next trip out... as we did scope out the camp sites and played for over an hour on the brand new playground.  We had a reall lovely time!  Now, where to go on our next Saturday Summer outing....
http://www.parks.state.co.us/parks/mueller/Pages/MuellerHome.aspx

Cook Book Bday Gift

How could I forget the Cook Book! Yeah!!!! My first cook book ever! So, proud of myself.  I made a Beef Wellington, yum and I got carried away and made Ratatoullle for a side? Hmmm go figure.  After watching lots of Hells kitchen w/ Chef Ramsey, or was it Kitchen Nightmares/// well, I have been wanting to try beef wellington, at the store I asked the butcher for 4-5lbs of Beef Tenderloin, so thankful he showed me 1lb pieces, a good deal at $11.45 wow...... um, not in my ball park, so I quickly had him direct me to some similar meat with a drastic price difference, so I spent $7.00 on a 5lb steak loin or something..... the wellington was really good, but the meat was a tad tough, but you got to compromise when the pocket book matters.   As for the Rat U toooeeee or how ever you pronounce it... I had an eggplant! I really wanted to cook it. Knowing that my husband would kill me if I prepared a full meal with no meat and only a piece of eggplant and decided against eggplant parmasean.  I did the side ratatolleee... it was pretty good.  Now I can say I could egg plant and beef wellington. AND<> my hubby can say he made Bread From SCRATCH!!!!!  :)

My 31st Birthday

I woke up to a card that said Open Me.. too cute... very nice card from my hubby.  It directed me to turn on the coffee, yummy fressh coffee. Then to take out my lemon meringue pie to thaw (very special, because I am the only one who LOVES this) Then, take the fruit tray out for my breakfast.  If that wasn't enough, my big birthday cake for the evening! I can NEVER have enough sweets!  Oh, and the 'gift' my very own foot spa tub w/ salt rocks scented w/ lavender! Spa socks, and chocolates to enjoy while my feet soak and a foot scrub.... This was a very, very nice day!  My Mom and Mother (in law) each sent me nice birthday wishes.....!!!! So, now I can treat myself to a gift and hopefully soon... a date night w/ my hubby!  But who knows, I really can't remember the last time we had dinner out, with just the two of us. :) So, thats my Bday!