Hard Headed Boys.... Stitches....

We have the proof.... boys are hard headed!! Harder than my girls... Stitches!! Yikes

Last night the 789s babysat for the church. This was a long awaited date night!! I was in total shock when Hubbie made us reservations for dinner!!! Reservations!!! Wow!!! I'm impressed!! I'm still impressed!!!

We had a lovely quiet candle lit dinner and did a bit of shopping when the church called... Oh, no are my girls giving them problems??? Hubbie talked with them...

He got off the phone and said we ought to go get them.... we meandered out... as I'm realizing my daughter has a head injury... with blood.... we walk faster....

At the church Lovebug was watching a movie... when she saw us she clung to us and was so shaken. Her white Tee was blood stained... her jeans were too... her chin quivered. I held her in my arms. We started to head out and decided we needed to evaluate before leaving... Just peeking under a bandage between her eyes revealed a dark gash... consulting with those who'd bandaged her... we thought we needed help...

We sent Ladybug home with friends. We ran thru the house to pack a hospital bad. We were bound for the ER.

What happened?? Running on the playground... Lovebug had a head on collisions with Kenny... She fell to the ground crying and in the night those around her realized she was bleeding. She was scooped up and carried in... cleaned up and bandaged... and we were called... and told we needed to come....

At the ER we prayed no stitches.... as they evaluated the 2" long gash... stitches were necessary. The cut was long and deep. They had some doubt on our story... was this really a head to head collision??!!! Kenny has a goose egg on his head!!! Boys are so much harder headed... in this run in!!!

Hubbie and I both stayed by her side. She was scared and fighting their touch. Oh Lord, help. As they evaluated the site to ensure it was deadened... she yet squirmed... when given a shot to deaden it, she felt betrayed. "You said you were going to poke me!!!" I really thought we'd need to wrap her up to keep her still. By God's grace Hubbie laid down beside her... a tech helped still her... I held her hand and played music on the pod and sang to her.

She has 8 stitches... asking after each one if they were done. She got 9 stitches as one had to be redone. Finally... Done... Deep sigh.

We celebrated being done with chocolate zingers!!! We'd not gotten dessert after our dinner!



Today Lovebug sat on the sidelines unable to play in her basketball game. She sat with a big smile with her team. She told about all that happened with a bandage over the stitches.

Wednesday the stitches will come out. We're praying quick recovery and minimal scaring.

I'm have peace knowing Ps 139... we are fearfully & wonderfully made, knit together. These stitches are what God's using to knit her together. He holds us in the palm of His mighty hands!

Stitched by grace! ss

Prayer ACTS

If you've ridden in the car with us, you've been invited to pray with us. I love the habit that each time we get in the car, we pray together.

We've started to learn ACTS:

• A doration: Praising God for who He is all on his own, in his word
• C onfession: Confess our faults
• T hanksgiving: Thanking God for his many blessings
• S upplication: Present your requests

This has given us a platform to focus our prayer beyond the "bless mommy, daddy, sister...". I think we've thought more and truly prayed more.

We've had lots to pray this week. With a call on the Freedom of Choice Act that the girls heard, I sat with my girls and told tell them about abortion. Have you ever explained this??

Lately, we've passed the Cemetery of the Innocents representing the lives lost to abortion. This year the girls thought of our Kyle as we passed.... I explained that Kyle was wanted and those babies were not.

I told the girls that there are moms who don't want a baby. These babies are killed because they are not wanted. Oh, how horrible. My girls would love another little on in our house... how could anyone not want a baby?!??

Our right response was to pray!! We pray for President O. For him to be surrounded by wise men. That God would frustrate decisions that do not honor life & Jesus. We pray for him to hear the voices of the children. We prayed for God to work in the Congress to frustrate the FC Act. God hears our prayers!!

Learning to pray!! So much to pray for!! ss

A Big Bible Lesson

We start our school day after breakfast together on the couch.

Bibles in hand we are working thru readings in the Old Testament. I like that we simply follow a schedule to read thru the Bible. We started in Genesis a year ago in January of '08. I'd not realized it's been a whole year.

We've just read of Samuel & King Saul, then David & Goliath. Finally, David became King. That took us to "2 Samuel 11:1-17, 26-27 Bathsheba". I knw this was new ground...

We read the passage and then reviewed the 10 commandments (remember the hand motions? hold each finger up for these!):

• 1- One God
• 2- Scissors to cut out the idols
• 3- Trace a W, do not take God's name in vain
• 4- Dad, Mom, the girls go to church, remembe the Sabbath
• 5- Salute, honor mom & dad, *first command w/ a promise
• 6- Make a gun toward other 5, do not kill
• 7- This married couple does not mix with the world, no adultery
• 8- With 2 fingers cut off for stealing as some countries, do not steal
• 9- Nine standing up, one lying down, do not lie
• 10- Hand of "gimme gimme", do not covet, toys, barbies, forts, ect...

The girls clearly knew and stated King David broke #6 Do not Kill & #7 No Adultery.

We talked about the commandments God gave. Oh, that our boundaries would fall in pleasant places. God called his actions "evil." Now all David's days would be shaded by this sin. The sword will not depart from his family... all because of this. Trouble is coming...

I told the girls that these days are the years to learn obedience... so all their lives are not impacted by their sin. Today we have bad DAYS because of disobedience and attitudes. Now it is just a day... Oh that we'd learn these lessons now... so the impact is not every day, their whole lives!!

Today we read as Nathan confronted David 2 Samuel 12. I love David's response... v13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

I'm praying for my girls to recognize their sin. So often they see me as the reason for their discipline. They see straight past their part... the whole reason for their trouble. I'm praying for their eyes to be opened....

There was such grief today with David's son dying. I know their thoughts go to Kyle, the baby we lost. I tried to turn their focus to see the impact of David's sin.

Over and over I've thought and said... sin will keep you from the Bible... or the Bible will keep you from sin. This reminder I pray keeps my feet from sin!! That MY boundaries fall in pleasant places... may God give peace to my family... and my we choose to stay in His blessings.

Oh that God would remind us over & over & over!! Never forget!!! Learning! ss

Walking

We are officially walking!!

Maple needs to walk daily! Ruff! We've been reminded by Cesar Milan to walk!!! Also, I need to walk daily! The girls get to walk daily!!! Off we go...

Yesterday we braved the cold at 27°!!! We bundled! The girls used their scarves over their faces. I turned up my turtle neck to cover my face!!! Maple inspired the girls to walk. I was on a mission to swing by my neighbors!!! We made a short block and headed home for some hot cider!!

Today we walked after school! It is lovely 50° afternoon filled with golden sunshine! I wanted to walk 2 rounds but Ladybugs legs gave out! Hmf! It is just perfect out to walk!!

With a good week of walking... I hope to make it a habit! Next, farther and faster!!! Or next, just glad to walk!!! Grace!! ss

11 more months...

Howdy all ya'll,
Well it has been an exciting month since last I wrote.

I have shipped my first ever silos that I completed from beginning to end. Both silos shipped in two pieces. The last two pieces were to get to Homer City, Pennsylvania last Thursday. On Thursday evening around 4:20pm I got the call that started with "Hey Kerry I needed to let you know a little bit of bad news!" I figured how bad can it be? It runs more than $15,000 to ship each section because of the size and the weight so I am sure they have good insurance right. The largest section is 14 feet in diameter and was 71 feet long so it is big, the lower section is not as long but has all the high dollar equipment inside it. Evidently they were 5 miles from their final destination when a dump truck drove past the 70' section and side swiped it denting my brand new silo. Each shipment I have done on this project that needed to be someplace actually had a delay or a hiccup in it. I had to go to the shooting range to unload a couple of hundred rounds that day, not because I was angry I had already planned to do that.

The girls have had their first basketball games and those have been interesting. They like to play and it is cool to watch them as they gain a better understanding of the game. Take a look at the attached photos of the girls in their basketball outfits and there is one in there of Megan taking a shot after stealing the ball from her opponent.

The girls decided that since they did not get the opportunity to meet their baby brother before he went to heaven they needed to adopt a brother. Our church was advertising to adopt a college student so the girls decided that they would do that. We went to the luncheon and our oldest selected the gent that she thought would make a good brother. He was quite receptive of being adopted so we adopted him and have corresponded via facebook already so we can hook up. As we were leaving the luncheon the girls asked when he would be moving into our home and changing his name. Our oldest said that if he gets married would they get to be a part of the wedding? I guess we did not explain enough that to adopt a student is not the same as an adoption.

Remember to pray for those who are leading our country as they are in a hard spot. Pray that they would exhibit integrity.

I am not really that much of a football fan but they decided to move the SuperBowl to my birthday this year so if you want to send me an extra gift that would be fine too... I could really use a restocking of 9mm and 380 rounds to replace the couple of hundred rounds I used to help my mood the other day. :) First time reloads are fine too.

Only 11 more months till Christmas...

Remember the reason for the season.

Kerry S.

I want to adopt a brother

All week the girls have pondered adopting a brother....

Sunday was the adopt a college student luncheon. Lovebug surveyed the crowd and found a guy who "looked like a good big brother!" I pulled her pointing hand down.

Soon Hubbie made his way across to meet him. Stephan is a senior at LT. He laughed at the girls. We made plans for an up an coming lunch and a FB contact.

Heading home the girls wondered when he's moving in?? He'll have a new last name!?! ...and so much more to explain!! They are thrilled to have a brother!!!

Grace! ss

Spanish Week Uno

Spanish Week 1 Assignments:

Sonidos Iniciales - movie - Letter sounds & words
Alphabet - movie - I'm unsure about including Ladybug here because she an emergent reader
Palabras de uso Frecuente - a - Word list
Spanish Ditty - Question words & a little ditty
Numbers - Learn 15 numbers and you can count to 100!!!
Uno - movie - Let's play a game!!

Here's a start to our first week of formal Spanish. I've got a clear starting point and concrete direction. Yea!!! I've placed movies on my pod for easy access. I made the movies during our first Spanish lesson. Tonight I made vocabulary cards to add 2 words a day.

For our vocabulary... I'm adding Spanish songs from De Colores and Other Latin American Folksongs for Children. We have the book and CD. The girls enjoy the songs and we need to learn what they say!!! Thus the cards I made!!! Also, we'll start kitchen words from Play and Learn Spanish. This is an excellent starting book for us with lots of home/about activities. We'll learn the vocabulary for breakfast and work our way to the breakfast conversation.

Uno... I want to plan Uno all in Spanish. I've gotten a start in our lesson's movie. Now to practice!!!

That's the plan!!! We have a week and half before our next lesson with Mrs. Edna. She is just wonderful. Her goal is to teach me, so I can teach the girls!!! I have mucho to learn!!!

Grace!! ss

Devo Detour

Each night before bed we all gather together to read the Bible. I'm glad the habit is in place!! Each of us holds our Bibles. Daddy's is so worn he need a new one... Lovebug enjoys a great Illustrated Bible. Ladybug often reads a line. We are walking our way through Acts.

This week we were on the heals of Paul proclaiming his story in Acts 26.... We'd stopped the night before to relish this reading the following night....

That's when we hit a speed bump. Fussing. Grumping. Tired girls. They each were too out of sorts to even listen to this passage of blinding light...

So we detoured... Hubbie & I picked up various verses we've traveled over.

Then we read in Proverbs 6 ...

16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Oh! God's word is so clear. We know all about haughty eyes. We are so known by those frown faces and anger eyes.... we are yet talking of this passage... tonight it was about dissension among brothers.... the mark was hit yet again...

God truly speaks to us from His living word. Grace! ss

Starting with Ambleside Online

I'm thrilled to find a neighbor who both homeschools with kidos close ages to my girls and bonus... she is starting out on Ambleside!! AO!!! http://www.amblesideonline.org/

This is a blog to help new AOers.... it has good info & links....
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cheps/ao-start.html

This is an AWESOME look at the AObooks.... it lists places to find each book new, used, public domain & audio.. with some prices... it is awesome!!!! Just looking at this site reminds me how much I like it... it can be a slow load... lots of pics....
http://www.accesstotheclassics.com/lists/Ambleside_ALL.html


Here's the AO Booklist by author... all like 11 years :)
http://www.amblesideonline.org/BooklistAuthor.shtml

I've mention lots of links on buying books... here's a start at it...

Here's a great place to trade books you don't need for credits for books you want.... PBS...
http://www.paperbackswap.com/ Tell them I sent ya... with my email.... you can also make a want list with them....

Books & Coffee in town is another way to trade out books... I've brought a stack to them before to see what store credit they'd give me... ones they don't take I can set up w/ PBS. I like this option because you can clear bookshelf space!!!

Used books... I use lots of sites... I try to buy most of my books used... there some I've not found... I try to buy books at least 2 years out and I focus on the scheduled books we'll be in for a term.... other books I can borrow from the library or inner library loan... or a good friend like Kathy!!

Here's a smattering of sites... I've bookmarked all these and use them in the hunt & pricing... finding used & new..

http://www.fetchbook.info/
http://www.betterworld.com/
http://www.alibris.com/
http://www.addall.com/
http://www.half.ebay.com/
http://www.abebooks.com/

Ebay... I do buy book there too.... I set up searches to be notified when books are posted....
I use a snip company so I can set my price and not worry about the auction... It will bid on the item to my top price... and if I get it great... and if not... it was more that I wanted to spend....

http://www.ezsniper.com/ it is another one if you use... please reference my email...

Here is an Amazon listing of AO books...
Judy Elliott has 60 Listmania lists at Amazon. You can find the beginning of the list here: http://tinyurl.com/5pmazx
Once you view the first page, just look for the 'next' button at the top or bottom of the page.

There are oodles and oodles of pages of AO lists with Judy....

These groups collect the public domain texts and break them up by term & week...

Year 1 Notebook Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AO_Year01_Notebook/

Year 2 Notebook Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AO_Year02_Notebook/

That's a start anyway!!! :) Grace! ss

The LORD is my shepherd
Psalm 23:1

Broken Needle Hats

When I broke my pretty new wooden needles... my socks sat idle with only a yucky green showing...

Alas, I had to knit something.... and I started by NOT reading the pattern for a possum hat... I picked up some fun yarn and started in the middle of the pattern... I knitted just he crown of the hat!! Rip out!

Actually, I ripped out that first hat like... six times!! (Ok, ok, I am a perfectionist....) The yarn was twisted, so rip it out... it's too big, rip out.... hmmmm... guage it.... and finally I knitted a hat I'm happy with! Then I remade my first hat!!!

The girls like the hats so that makes me happy!

Also my lovely mum sent me new needles and the yarn I liked and could not decide on!!! I guess she could not decide either because where I got none... she got both!!!

I'm back to socks.. and wondering about a scarf to match those hats!!! Alas, the remaining yarn is not enough...

Knitting!!! God knits too!!!

Grace & Mercy! ss

Hungry!

Am I really hungry? How long does it take to get hungry?

That's what I'm pondering!! I'm realizing I need far less food than I'm eating!! So... I'm trying to wait for hunger... real hunger... stomach growls and wait 20 minutes and real hunger comes back!! Grrrr... then eat just a little... and wait to get hungry again.

Over the weekend was not the ideal time to wait for hunger!! My first wait takes days. Hubbie was not thrilled with my not making meals.. but I'm truly not hungry. It also help to stay out of the kitchen away from nibbles....

I've learned it is very easy to throw my hunger off.... a cup of tea with a bit of sugar covered all hunger for hours.

So! I'm eating a little breakfast.... 1/2 banana & 1/2 avocado with oj today... I'm waiting to be really hungry!! Gum helps the wait :)

Grace! ss

Howdy New Year!!!

Hey I just thought I would let you know that I was thinking about all ya'll as the clock flips over.

Happy New Year!!

KjS

What more can I say...

Well what more can I say? I have only 15 minutes of Christmas Day left to say it so, "Unto us a Child has been born, He is my King!!"

Take a look at the blessings I have this Christmas... Two little girls who want me to make them a treehouse... a hot wife... a little girl who got her horse for Christmas and one little girl who got one front tooth...

We are wondering if the tooth fairy saw Santa and if she will increase the dibs since Lovebug was a pretty good kid this year.

Merry Christmas all ya'll!!!

I'll try to do New Year's update since I am off until January 5th...

Later Gators,
KjS

Christmas Memories

The days are flying bye. Hubbie has had a wonderful break from work.

Christmas with mom & dad was wonderful. We had a sweet early Christmas with Hubbie's mom & dad.

We laughed at mom's Wii and enjoyed making all the Miis. Golfing off the cliffs was my favorite. I enjoyed the scenery! The girls had a ball with bowling. Ladybug has a very entertaining swing hop. Baseball would be a next favorite with seeing all the Miis up for bat! We're encouraging Grandaddy to bat, but he's not biting.

We then had to go bowling.. real bowling. Santa hats for this occasion was a bonus. Playing two rounds was fun. I was ready to retire. Hubbie came in a solid first and Ladybug had a clear second.

A highlight was visiting with Aunt Patty & Uncle Donnie. We laughed at beauty treatments for a turkey neck!! Then we toured Facebook and found my cousin Julie! I think mom was nearly convinced to join... but time did not allow.

Uncle Eric & Hubbie both got and gave cool shirts... Read the Manual & My Lifeguard walk on water. The girls also enjoyed a good visit with their cousin. They played inside & outside & her Nintendo ds was a hit.

Grandaddy had a couple days off. He said his favorite gift was a scale!! His work at Wal-mart keeps him busy. He's driving mom's car since we took his to the shop. By God's grace in a collision a week ago he was not hurt when his driver door was hit and the glass flew.

Mom and I had a lovely visit. We had a shopping day that took us from the mall to the knitting store then the grocery. We could have enjoyed a long summer day because the short winter day came to a close way too quick. We both got a new J.A. Henckels knife that cuts really well!

Hubbie was my hero. As dinner approached after our late return, he was a huge help. He jumped right in to frying oysters and shrimp for a yummy meal with Aunt Karen & Nicole. He got plans to build a tree house and an axe too. He's also outfitted with many clothes.

I was thrilled hubbie gave me a wonderful classic Ipod. It is all I wanted!!! It is fully loaded with all our music. It has movies on it of Colorado and most of 2008. Before leaving for home the Ipod was dressed in a very cute pink skin. The girls watched movies on it as we traveled.

That's the high spots. Memories made!! Will we remember... girls bouncing on pogo sticks, the surprising Coconut & Cheesecake kisses, lots of Queen Anne chocolate covered cherries, emergency peppermint Oreos for Santa??? puzzling and then is the gooey lava,...

We had an early Christmas w/ G'ma & G'pa from Ohio. It was so special for them to come for Lovebug's baptism and celebrating Christmas was a bonus. We enjoyed a shopping day.... camping out around the fire... The guys projected reworking the dog house. We used the cold evenings to look for Christmas lights. We had a great stop at Santa's workshop in Marshall. Santa Land was huge with lights especially the tunnel!

I know I'll look back to a wonderful celebration... a feast with family... all to remember Jesus' birthday. Every good and perfect gift is from above! Thank you Jesus!

Grace! ss

Our Christmas Piano Recital

"It was awesome when I got to play two things on the piano and play the part of a shepherd. Eeee. Yippeee. That was fun. Love you G'ma Carol and G'pa Ben."

Saturday was full of practices and Lovebug's first piano recital. She worked on Jolly O'le St. Nick & Away in a Manger. She played each piece and did a great job. She sweetly sang along as she played and snapped the count.

Ladybug: "I liked it because I was Mary and I loved that I was in it." She had a very special spot as Mary in the living nativity. She made a lovely Mary as she rode in on a stick horse. She sat sweetly for the entire recital. Afterwards G'ma Carol told her she was lovely with her blue eyes and flushed cheeks... she said "She knew."!!!!

Lovebug does well on her piano practice. Generally, just a mention from me and shes off to practice. Often she needs a cup of encouragement... and I so love the Christmas music she plays! She pushes herself and struggles when she hit wrong notes. She learning and that's wonderful!

A cup of encouragement with a splash of joy and a bit of cinnamon!! Grace! ss

139 Degrees!

The hot water is on a low setting... the installer said with children he woud not set it higher!!

The water is 139 degrees!!! That's above the 130 dust mite killer temp! That's hot enought to me.

My lessons on Hot Water Heaters:

Before removing the old water heater, check the dip stick.
Lots of "calcium" in the faucets... it is not calcium, check the dip stick.

The dip stick should be as long as the heater is deep in our gas unit. Ours was merely 3" long.

With the heater half out we decide to run the dip check... maybe we could have lived with the old water heater and a new dip... alas, we are already half removed so we went with the new hot water heater.

In hot water!
ss

A Sign of Faith

Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved!! Acts 16:31

Lovebug turned to Jesus on May 24, 2004. She prayed to Jesus as she cleaned her room. She told me. Again she proclaimed to Daddy and I that evening. She followed up with phone calls to family and declared she knew Jesus. She asked Him to forgive her sin and invited Him into her heart.

I know then the angels were singing, Luke 15:7. Her name was written in the Lamb's book of Life. Revelation 21:27

This summer she began to ask about baptism. Generally, she asked a week before a baptism with timing impossible to even invite far away family. Even our friends were out of town. She did not give up.

Courage! October we crossed paths with our Pastor. Quietly she asked me if she could ask Pastor Jim. With courage, she asked to be baptized. Then and there the plans were made for a December baptism.

With great joy all our family decided to come. Hubbie's parents from Ohio... a big drive. Memem brought a family friend as Grandaddy had to work. We got a new hot water heater for the occasion. We thought they would appreciate hot showers!! It was so fun to have a house full for something other than a hurricane!



Sunday, December 7, 2008, Lovebug was baptized to proclaim she believes in Jesus. This was not to get her to heaven, but merely a sign of her faith to tell all she's going to heaven! Her daddy had the joy to baptize her as the custom of our church. Our family was in the cloud of witnesses.

Here's more on the Sinner's Prayer... and more on baptism.

I'm thrilled to see her grow in her faith & obedience. Praying she'll honor Jesus all her days!!!

Grace!! ss

Happy 9th Birthday Love

NINE!! Nine. Nine years.

The day was packed! Museum. Lunch. Skate. Basketball. She picked to do it all and we did.

Happy Birthday Lovebug.


Nine. I worked before this child came. From this day, that was another life, so long ago. I love being mom! She is growing in so many way.

Her name means "strong one."

She is strong! That's true. I pray her strength is in the Lord. It is easy for her strength to be against me... Life is much more fun when our strength is paired and we fight the same things. She's learning so much and has so many verses of the Bible to guide her path.

She is a leader to her sister. We work on the strengths as a sister and that she's not to mother. The girls play together... swing out side... chase & play with Maple. They often clean rooms together... that's required when they don't work independent. They play webkins together learning to share. They often have together time to work thru their struggles.

For her ninth she wants a laptop. Yet she is enjoying her own email. The light up shirt she's worn for countless days. She said she's been in the stripe footie socks for 3 days. I'm thrilled she likes them. She also got a pair of boots and a pair of unmentionables. She too is thrilled. She's been so thankful for her birthday.

We ended the full day with a birthday dinner at Hop Hop... translation Ihop. Fun was had by all.

We are truly blessed!! Grace! ss

AO Exams

AO3 & AO1: Term I is behind us now.


We are into exams...


It is time to spin a web, tell a tale, weave a yarn... We've climbed a mountain and it's time to look back on all where we've been... what we've learned...


And so started our exams... We've gone low key this time... more casual... Lovebug begged for her exam papers of the past.... not this round... This is our time to remember and see what sticks.


We've really enjoyed poetry this round. We all have had favorites. Here's a look at our poetry...


Grace! ss

Stop Wanting It

"If you want something and cannot afford it, stop wanting it."


As we drove along I turned on the radio to eliminate the rising level of the girls. Little did I realize the truth that Ladybug would hear...

They issued a challenge... and I just kept driving... not a second thought....

Yet that challenge hit Ladybug square on... you see, she wants a horse. A real big horse that she's just learned she need an acre for. She really wants a horse. She asked Santa for one... and fyi Lovebug asked for a computer!!

Ladybug realized she could not have a horse... and the truth to stop wanting what you cannot have... is huge. So she learned right there, while I drove. We've talked this over and over for months now.... she could not keep a horse in her room... there's not room in the backyard... over and over...

God worked in her heart to stop wanting a horse.

Oh, Lord open my ears to hear your truths!! I'm thanking HIM for sharing the girls truths with me!! There's so much to stop wanting!!!

Grace! ss