The Gospel

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Perspective

Friday was a fairly low key day at home. The older Blessings finished up school for the week and Benjamin and Daddy did a little Benjamin school. After Daddy and Benjamin were finished they went outside for a while and when Benjamin came in he saw Levi and Judith painting so he wanted to paint.  By this time I was working on overdue sewing repairs so Benjamin joined the activity at the dining room table and painted. He is beyond adorable so I had to get a picture. The first couple of pics I zoomed in a bit to get just Benjamin but when I looked at the whole table I knew I had to capture the entire mess.
I also began thinking about how we as people only post what we want on our facebook, instagram, and/or blog pages. We zoom in on what we want to share and we block out the rest. Guilty as charged, often I post only the fun, pretty, socially acceptable pictures and information and honestly I wouldn't share everything because well, you don't want to see it all. But, today you see a table full of busy. I am thankful for busy.

Dog team

Today we went to the other side of Fairbanks for lunch/support group planning/kids play at a friend's home. On our way home there was a sled dog team about ready to take off so I had to pull over and take a pic and show Benjamin the dog team. These dogs were raring to get going.
To the left of the picture is the frozen river and the right is the road.

Go, family, go

Today was go, go, go when my preferred day is stay, stay, stay. Tuesday is piano day, then Elisabeth had a chiropractor appointment, a quick stop at the library to pick up held items, home for lunch and to put dinner in the Crockpot before heading out for a field trip. The only pictures of the field trip are of Benjamin outside of the planetarium. Benjamin opted to stay on the outside of the big bubble and I was thankful.
After the field trip we had some time to burn before Dad got off of work so we went to the thrift store. The girls now have beautiful new outfits for Ressurection Sunday.  They needed church clothing as we have been getting by all winter long. They weren't clothes less but I haven't done much shopping for clothes. I will post pictures later, like Sunday probably. The rest of us are good for Sunday as the menfolk do not care and I am good. I am loving thrift shopping and looking forward to garage sales this summer. 
I also found these books for $.69 each and one was free. I think I am addicted to thrift shopping.

The Snowy Day

I decided we had better "row" The Snowy Day before the snow melts. Silly me, we have plenty of time. It snowed last night, as in inches of snow.  Perfect timing for a snow book. I am keeping this week simple as we have a planetarium field trip tomorrow and lunch with friends on Thursday.  Yay for everyone being healthy!!
Benjamin asked for cookies and hot cocoa to be consumed after he came inside, like Max and Ruby. Because we do lots of things like Max and Ruby. Fun fact, when Judith was little I did not like Max and Ruby but now I do. I love the music,  furnishings and decor of the house.
And because a post is better with pictures, especially pictures of four year old cuteness consuming hot cocoa and cookies.

Judith Rae

Our sweet Judith Rae trusted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior about five years ago. She has asked to get baptized a couple of times but we said wait. We had reasons, enough said.
This morning during the preaching she began crying and said she needed to get baptized and it was time. We spent some time with Pastor after the service and baptism tonight it was.
Bless her heart and the two others who were baptized as the water was COLD.  I affectionately call our church This Old Church, our building is old. Our baptistry has been out if commission for a while and the past few months have been spent on repairs and a new heating system. My husband and a couple other men have spent countless hours researching, preparing and repairing and the baptistry isn't leak proof yet. See the plastic and red tape? Yeah, they lined the thing for tonight's baptisms. One of our deacons spent the entire afternoon lining and filling the baptistry. I guess that is a good example of making due.

Saturday

Today began with a big breakfast, you know biscuits and gravy, hash browns, eggs and bacon. That sticks with you all day!
After breakfast we went our separate ways boys to our chicken manure lady's house to help with some chicken coop cleaning. They brought home 18 eggs!!! I want chickens.
The girls and I went to church, they to a birthday party and I to clean up the room that contained all the wedding decorations. Yes, I procrastinated. Then I joined the party to socialize and watch the festivities.
The girls and I came home and I started dinner while they skied. Dinner is over and I think I will head out to ski after the kitchen and dining room are cleared up. Then I need to mop and print school papers and maybe do some comb binding. Yes, my life is over stimulatingly exciting. I love every minute. Oh, iron, I must iron church clothes.

Lollipops and daily duties

Last weekend Judith tried making lollipops while I was cleaning in the boys' room. The sugar burned and we didn't have time to try again until today.

I made some breakfast food for the freezer. We are trying to break the cereal habit here. This is bacon, sausage, egg and hashbrowns in biscuit dough. I almost ate one for lunch but instead I had a bowl of the leftover filling.

Hello Feedly, goodbye Google Reader

Feedly, I choose Feedly because of the positive reviews for the app, as I read  mainly using my phone. So far I am liking it. Easy to use, synced Google Reader info right over. Love the layout and font better than Google Reader so that is a plus.

Now let's see if Google Reader really goes away. I began using bloglines many moons ago and they announced a close date and failed to close due to user requests...that's when I switched to Google Reader.

Helpers and chores

Benjamin was being naughty and into stuff and even whining, one of the three all day long.  I realized I am missing an opportunity with him. He needed order to his days, he needed more Mommy time. You may ask, but you are home with him all the time, what do you mean by more Mommy time? I was focused on my agenda and schedule. I expected him to play quietly while the older Blessings worked and just be. Well, four year olds can only be for so long. They crave attention and activity and order and sequence.
Take today, I got my shower before breakfast, somedays the shower comes after. Benjamin was thrilled when it clicked that his school could start right away because I had already taken my shower.
He has also become my laundry sorter helper and kitchen helper and dishwasher helper. I have noticed that the requests to watch something have decreased a tiny bit.
And that is why our dishes are stored down low. They have been since Judith was about four and I guess they will be until Benjamin can reach the upper cabinets. But, I will probably have a revolt if I change the location of the plates and bowls, they may just stay there forever.

Tidbits from today

•We now have about twelve hours of daylight a day!
•We rarely turn lights on anymore until evening or when working in the kitchen
•Around noon today my throat barely hurts, only when I swallow is there a tiny bit of tenderness. I'll take it, it is improvement
•I used to strongly dislike politics and the like, funny how furlough makes the ears perk up

Oh how I've changed

Should things change?  Yes. Should things stay the same? Yes. Confused yet? Years ago one of my favorite preachers came here and he asked those two questions. I have never forgotten them.

Boy have I changed and this change is a good change. I used Before Five in a Row with my older Blessings but they have no documentation because pretty much we read the books and did a few activities but I was still trying to figure things out and there was this little problem of perfectionism.  As you can see by the pictures below, I have pretty much let go of my past perfectionistic ways.
When I first learned about lapbooking I printed lots on cardstock but I have since learned that printing everything on cardstock is not necessary. Every so often something gets printed on cardstock but not nearly what used to get printed.
At this point it is important to do the work and get it in the notebook. I am no longer caught up with how it looks or needing x,y and z to create what is in my brain.  I missed so much with my other Blessings because of my perfectionism and I have learned from it and plan to not miss this time.
Benjamin and I are working through our books, learning counting
and numbers, sizes, story sequencing, letters, rhyming, cutting and pasting, colors, animals, etc. and so forth. And we are creating a notebook. I love sources such as the free fold and learns from Five in a Row, homeschool share, homeschool creations to add to our learning journey. Benjamin likes the pencil and paper, cutting and pasting work so I am just going with it for now. 

Our notebook isn't beautiful but it represents Benjamin's learning.

Monday

I went to bed Sunday night with a sore throat and woke up with a sore throat. I have taken it easy today and am thankful for leftovers for dinner tonight.

We began a new unit today and that helps me see we are moving forward. The day hasn't gone as planned but the day has marched on.
Benjamin began rowing Goodnight Moon today. I didn't get pictures during our learning time but I did get a couple of his building with Math U See blocks.

Sunday

Our entire family made it to Sunday School and church today! I am coughing but with constant water drinking and cough drops I can make it through.
After church we came home and had moose & caribou roast, mashed potatoes,  carrots, rolls and chocolate pie.
After the Blessings cleaned up the kitchen with a couple of rough spots, they are going through a tough time with group chores. Learning to deny self is tough and learning to not complain is even more tough.
And, I finally got a project on needles again Friday night. This is just a swifter mop cover thing but I am thrilled to be knitting again. I haven't knitted since before the wedding.

Moose Stock

Friday I made moose stock. The stock I made a few months ago is long gone so it was past time to make stock.

My set up is fairly simple. See the wire coat hanger holding rings? That was an idea I got from watching the West Ladies canning dvd. That tip has been a great organization help for me as those rings were all over the place. My library has quite a few of the West Ladies dvds so that is a huge blessing.

Why makes stock? It is so good for us and I really do enjoy canning.  I love to see the jars lined up on the shelf. And, I cannot let the birds get all the enjoyment out of the moose bones!

I almost forgot a picture of the finished jars. I ended up with about sixteen quarts of stock.

We finished another unit

Benjamin began our presentation time with his Before Five in a Row book, Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack  but we didn’t get any pictures.

Levi presented about Francis Scott Key, the presidents they studied during the unit and he read a poem he wrote.

And when you have a four year old little brother, he insists on helping with your presentation.

While Levi was presenting, Judith was finishing up some last minute things for her presentation. Oh, she is my child.

Judith and Levi got new glasses, here are Judith’s I really like them.

Benjamin keeping busy with silly putty

Elisabeth’s power point presentation about flag code

Our unit was called Nation Building, so Elisabeth shared how land was added to the United States.

When your map holder gets side tracked you hold your own map.

Elisabeth created a flag for our family.

Her speech about Francis Scott Key

Judith began with a song and the words on a power point presentation.

She then had a power point about the unit in general

She read the words to the Star Spangled Banner

And she told about one of the books we read, The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz

When we read the Postscript from the Author yesterday we realized that my husband might be on to something with his new word parfictional. Read the second paragraph here.

The girls science study for this unit was oceans and they made this salt dough model. I really tried to stay out of this one and let them follow the directions and complete this project. They did a really good job. They still need to paint, which they may do so this afternoon.