Hockey, Deep Sea Caverns, and Mountians OH MY...

Last Thursday my dad's sisters were in town. Although it was short, we had a wonderful visit. I haven't seen my dads oldest sister in several years. The picture to the right is of my sister-in-law Donna, My dads oldest sister Cindy, the middle sister Pam, My beautiful daughter Rebecca and the Baby of the sisters Jackie.

On Friday we drove for 8 or so hours from Kamloops BC where we live to Edmonton AB. We had a picnic lunch in Hinton AB at the Alberta Visitors center. After arriving at our hotel and getting checked we took the 5 min walk over to the N.A.I.T. Campus to watch my younger brother first hockey game of the weekend. They won 9-1 and Colin was in need of some dental work after the game as a result from a stick to the mouth from a future pastor (the team they were playing was from a Seminary school in SK)

(picture on the left of the mountians heading into Jasper Nation Park AB)


On Saturday I was able to get in a swim with Rebecca at the hotel pool and even got some shopping in at the mall conviently located across the street from our hotel. Saturday afternoon we watched another game that my brothers team just happend to win....AGAIN! Did I mention the 60-80 mile winds? At some point my skirt was almost around my neck and there were severe wind warnings on the TV (aprently Edmonton gets Tornados....I was a little worried).

Sunday was nice. We took our time getting up, later went for breakfast/brunch with my brother and then droped him back at his hotel and headed over to the West Edmonton Mall. I made sure to turn this into a learnign experience for my daughter with a visit to the Deep sea Caverns where we got see creepy crawlies, African Penguins, Sharks, full grown sea turtles and even pet star fish and baby sting rays (yes this was in a mall). r="0"></a>My mother and I also took Rebecca to the Sea Lion show where after she was kissed by one of the Sea Lions. Of course we also visited a few of the 100's of stores including Build a Bear workshop where Rebecca picked up a new outfit for her bear and a candy store where she got to pick and fill her own powdered candy tube. We also watched the last game that my brother had and the won yet again. Rebecca was very excited about being able to watch uncle play hockey.

On Monday we stoped by the Royal Alberta Museum where rebecca was very excited to see the MUCH ABOUT MUNSCH exhibit. Robert Munsch is in my mind one of the greatest childrens authors of all time and happens to be one of Rebeccas absolute favorites (we have a very large Robert Munsch book collection). We were als able to see the WILD ALBERT exhibit, HUMMING BIRDS exhibit, FIRST NATIONS exhibit (one of my faves) and much more. Outside the main entrance to the museum in the Goverment House. This happens to be one of the oldest building in Edmonton and was origionally buit for the Governal Generals to use. The building has also been used as a Ventrens Hospital and is currently being used by the government of Alberta to hold meetings and special events. After lunch in the Museum Cafe we headed off to Lac Le Biche to do a car swap and see where my brother is living and going to school. We stayed at the brand new Ramada where my brother joined us for a swim before we headed off to bed to rest up for the 13 hour drive hom on Tuesday. On the drive home we saw mountian sheep, cariboo and a very cute dog/part wolf named Timber.And Rbecca was Finally done!!!!!!

A piece of me just died...

Yet another week has begun and on somewhat of a sadder note. Yesterday at church we were given the news that due to the financial burden that is a very small church in such a terrible economy, our Pastor and his wife and their family will be leaving us for a year to seek funding. Over the last few years my Pastors Wife and I have become very close and so have our children. There were many tears shed yesterday at the close of the service with the note that next Sunday which will be the 5th anniversary will also be our final service :(. It's hard to wrap my head around but yet understandable. We are unable to make it next week as we will be in Edmonton for a few days visiting my younger brother. We will continue to pray and keep our faith that God will lead us in the right direction and the church family will be back together sooner rather then later.

On somewhat of a lighter note... Week 5 has begun in our schooling journey. The playroom/schoolroom had a major clean up job done yesterday afternoon and we are now actually able to conduct lessons where it was meant to be done in our home (no more sitting at the kitchen table). Rebecca has also started her spelling and scored 100% on her first spelling test.

The theme of the month: For the rest of September and through November and October we are learning about Autumn. We will be talking about all things that have to do with Autumn including changing leaves, Canadian Thanksgiving, and touch very little on Halloween as we don't really celebrate it.

This Weeks Topics:
Bible Study: Cain and Abel
Math: Addition and Subtraction Facts to 6
English: Proper Nouns
Social Studies: Out and about (1)- Transportation
Science: Healthy Eating
Art Projects: Healthy Foods Mobile, Farmer craft and more I'm sure...

God Give Me Patients

Tomorrow is the end of another week. Can't believe we are completing a month of school already. It was a little bit of a challenging week with lots of interruption, but we made it through without to many tears (on both our parts).

Grandpa was home this week which meant Rebecca wanted to be his little shadow as usual. She has grown very close to her grandfather without any other constant father figure in her life. I love watching their relationship grow and know that what they share will always be extremely special. Despite wanting to be by his side the entire time he was home she did get her work done even if at moments it felt like I was pulling stubborn teeth.

On Wednesday we were able to head to Williams Lake to share in the opening week of a wonderful new church. Lake City Baptist Church will truly be a blessing on that community as will the wonderful pastor and his family. It was nice to see some faces I have met briefly in the past and get to know them on a deeper level. I was able to sit down with other moms who not only share in spiritual beliefs but also home school their own children. One mother in particular was wonderful to speak with. She has been homeschooling for 13 years and has about 13 more to go. Her oldest is now in college and away from home and the youngest just started Kindergarten. When asking for advise she simply said "have patients". Such wise words from such a strong woman. These were words I truly needed to hear. Although it can be sometimes I know that I must continue to put my trust in God and allow him to take control and grant me with patients to deal with anything this world will through and me...even if its my 6 year old telling me she hates school so that she can find away to go spend time with Grandpa.

The Beauty Of a Woman

To add to the other days topic on what is beauty I thought I would add in this wonderful quote from a truly wonderful and beautiful woman.

For attractive lips, Speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, Seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, Share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, Let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, Walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a Woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.

And the beauty of a woman, with passing years only grows!

Audrey Hepburn

Week 4

Today we started week 4 with a bit of a struggle. Rebecca's grandparents were back from their trip which made it so that she really just didn't want to work this morning. After her grandparents went out she headed downstairs for a nap. She woke up from her nap in much better spirit and finished up the last few things she had before having something to eat. She smiled at me when I thanked her for sitting down and getting it finished and was very proud of herself for doing her last page without any help.

Topics of the Week:
Bible Study: Noah's Ark
Math: Addition and Subtraction using factors of 0 and 1
English: Nouns/common nouns
Social Studies: The Community
Science: Living things - The way they move and look
Art: Noah's Ark Paper craft

What is Beauty?

As a mother I try to encourage my daughter to be proud of who she is and let her know what true beauty is even at the young age of 6.

Last year my daughter attended public school and I spent a lot of time at the school as a member of PAC, Coach of the girls Basketball team and volunteering for many things. I constantly heard the girls and even the guys talking about the way other students looked, giving each other a hard time about their appearance because they didn't fit in to what was considered "beautiful" in today's society. I think one of the hardest things I heard was a Kindergarten student telling another student that she had really ugly clothes and that she was fat. The little girl being made fun of started to cry and some other children laughed. There is something truly wrong with our society when 5 and 6 year olds are are making fun of each other because of they clothes they wear aren't the latest style or that they don't meet the right standards for what is considered pretty. There was time in history when bigger women were considered beautiful, when being plus sized was considered a sign of status and wealth in society. When did become ok to allow our children to judge others based on their appearance?

I have been truly excited about Doves campaign to encourage girls and women to embrace their true beauty. I am truly excited about Operation beautiful

http://www.operationbeautiful.com

and now I am truly excited about encouraging women to embrace their mommy body

http://theshapeofamother.com/

. We need to stop focusing on outer appearance and come back to what is truly important. We need to encourage kindness, compassion and love for an individual. We need to look deep into a persons soul. We need to embrace the gifts we are given. We need to find the good in out flaws because they make us unique and those flaws aren't so much flaws but rather the individual beauty that is You or I. Love that oddly shaped nose because its you, love your freckles because they are you, smile more because that quirky smile makes others smile.

I think Mark twain said it best "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."

Encourage your daughters to find their inner beauty and share it with the world
Encourage your sons to love a woman for her soul
Encourage your children to look for the good in all people and respect them, and love them, and be their friend even if they don't fit in to what society says is beautiful, hip, or cool.
Parents Love your children, encourege their uniquness because without indviduality the world would be a boring and colorless place.

Wow... Three Weeks Already?

Today I am finding it kind of hard to wrap my head around the fact that we have completed 3 weeks of school already and with very few hiccups to boot. I think it helps that my girl likes to learn. I find it very interesting how things I thought she would have problems with she has been getting right away while things that seem so simple she just can't quite grasp. Is this normal? With a little extra push she gets through it and by the end of the subject week she is understanding it and eager to move on to the next topic. I look forward to the many more ups and downs as this is a learning experience for the both of us and with all the love and support I have been getting from other homeschooling families I am determined to prove everyone wrong who said I couldn't or shouldn't do it.

Tonight we will be headed out to a wonderful new thing that our church has started doing, FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT. Every Friday during our Focus on the Family Topic we will have the chance to join our church family for a good family friendly movie and snacks. This is defiantly a better alternative to the movie theater: On average for my daughter and I to attend a movie at the theater is around $50 where as this family fun night is just a $1 a person for a movie, snack and the company of good friends.

Tomorrow I am thinking a trip to the local pool sounds inviting as I have some free passes and after that i have church song practice and then I think we may set up camp in the living room for the night and watch movies and have snacks in the comfort of our own home.

Total cost that I must put out this weekend for tons of fun.... $6 ... Now that's what I call Cheap entertainment.

The memories we make together as a family are the most important ones. It is important to enjoy every moment with our children that we can before they get to old and cool to hang out with mom!

Colorful Fish and Homemade Biscuits...

Today was a wonderful day in. We haven't been having the greatest weather with off and on again rain and clouds so most of the morning was spent indoors and gave the perfect excuse to make plaster fish and a nice yummy warm lunch.

For the fish I used a great kit that I picked up for real cheap at our local Dolaram(man I love that store when it comes to buying craft supplies). The plaster was simple to mix and very quick drying which meant decorating the fish could come quickly for my impatient 6 year old. I allowed her to paint her fish however she wanted and the paint that came in the kit was quick trying and easy to clean up to.

For Lunch today I made some baking powder biscuits with some added flavor. I mixed the regular dry ingredients of flour, baking powder and salt but also added some VE Cheddar chives and Bacon dip mix and some grated cheddar cheese. After that I added the milk and made my dough rolled it out and cut the circles using the rim of a glass. We also had some yummy mushroom soup we a bit of grated Cheddar cheese on top, This is another meal my daughter just loves.

Taste of Mexico!

Last night was Tacos that were oh so good and today for lunch we used the left over taco hamburger on Nachos. Both these items were similar yet different and OH SO YUMMY!

For the tacos we added VE Taco seasoning into the browned and drained meat. Put the meat into hard or soft shells depending on taste and topped with Sour Cream, Cheese, Tomatoes, and Lettuce.

For the Nachos I added the left over hamburger from lasts nights dinner, some onions and cheese and topped with some salsa made with VE Salsa mix and some sour cream.

I also felt like some eggnog so we had homemade eggnog but I didnt even think to take pictures. OOPPSS! Oh well next time.

A Quiet Labour Day

I decided other then finishing up a few things that Rebecca missed last week we would not be doing any schooling today and would just enjoy the day off. We were able to watch movies and did some shopping. I am looking forward to all this week has to offer and getting back into the weekly routine. I will make sure to share more of our wonderful meals throughout the week and hopefully get some pictures of some of her art. We will also be taking a trip to the Swimming pool for some much needed swim time and planting and herb garden as part of this weeks science lessons.

This Weeks Topics
Bible Study: Creation
Math: Review of the Numbers 1-10
English: Rhyming Words
Social Studies: Responsibilities and Rules
Science: Liveing things - Their Growth and Needs
Art: Plaster Fish, Potato Stamps

Is He Welcome to Abide In Our home or Is He Just A visitor?

"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at your house." Luke 19:5

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:1-10 Those who sincerely desire a sight of Christ, like Zaccheus, will break through opposition, and take pains to see him. Christ invited himself to Zaccheus' house. Wherever Christ comes he opens the heart, and inclines it to receive him. He that has a mind to know Christ, shall be known of him. Those whom Christ calls, must humble themselves, and come down. We may well receive him joyfully, who brings all good with him. Zaccheus gave proofs publicly that he was become a true convert. He does not look to be justified by his works, as the Pharisee; but by his good works he will, through the grace of God, show the sincerity of his faith and repentance. Zaccheus is declared to be a happy man, now he is turned from sin to God. Now that he is saved from his sins, from the guilt of them, from the power of them, all the benefits of salvation are his. Christ is come to his house, and where Christ comes he brings salvation with him. He came into this lost world to seek and to save it. His design was to save, when there was no salvation in any other. He seeks those that sought him not, and asked not for him.

I felt the urge to blog about a very important question that was brought up at Church today. Is God living in your home or is he just a visitor that pops in from time to time? This really got me thinking about what I want for my family and home and about how we can make God feel welcome.

We Have started a Focus on the family study in our church that will take us into October and it is one that have been greatly looking froward to. We must make our house ready for God. We must ask ourselves "what is it that God wants for our home?" God has a design and plan for our home. He has a planed and a purpose for the the home. When He is allowed into the home he makes a transformation as he does when he is welcomed into our hearts. God is the difference between simply existing and actually living. We must have a strong set of standards and guidelines and understand that they are necessary. We must use the Word of God to steer us and guid us. The flesh must not rule us, "All flesh is still flesh at it's best". Everything we purpose must be seasoned with love. We must guid our children with kindness, gentleness and love. When we show our children love they understand that the rules are there because of this love and they can respect them. The difference in one home from another is the ammount of love that is taught and shown. You can not Love someone if you can not rule yourself.

With all this I now relise that I want my home to always be a place that is welcomming to God. Just as we set out to make our home comfortable for our guest we must do so for God. We must fill our house with the Fruit of the Spirit and raise our children to be good men and women of God. We must prepare our children for the day that they will leave our homes and make homes of their own and show them love so that they will go on to love their spouses and their own children. We must show and teach our children about how to make the home a place for God to abide so that they will be able to do the same.

Tastey Science and a Yummy Alternative to KD

Today is the last day in Week 2. We enjoyed learning about our family and looking at our family tree. As I promised my daughter got a very special science project and was able to have a couple friends over to share in the fun. We finished up our unit on the 5 senses and made yummy Reese Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. The kids had a blast and mommy enjoyed the finished product.



We were also able to enjoy one of my daughters favorites for lunch. I don't much care for Kraft Dinner so I make my own Macaroni and Cheese using Cream of Mushroom Soup, Real Cheddar, celery and red peppers and throw in whatever Epicure flavor I may be in the mood for (today was Epicure's Red Garlic Sensel).
I am greatly looking forward to the long weekend and spending more time with our family and heading into week 3 on Tuesday . I hope you all have a wonderful and Tasty Weekend.

Breakfast with Epicure!

I am a strong believer in the Epicure Selections Line of products, probably why I became a consultant. As I so often do I use the dip mixes for more then just dip. Today's breakfast included Scrambled eggs with Sun dried Tomato and Herb Dip Mix and Yummy Chai Tea Smoothies.For Scrambled Eggs Just add the Epicure Selections Dip mix of your choice to your egg mixture before puting in heated pan. I usualy make my eggs mixer while the bacon is cooking then when the bacon is done I wrap it in Paper towel and set aside, drain off all the extra fat fromt he ban and use the same pan for cooking the eggs.


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For the Chai Tea smoothis i simply follow the directions on the Epicure Selections Chai Tea and then Chill. After the Tea has had time to cool down I then add to blender with A Few Ice Cubes and Some Vanilla IceCream for a little added flavour.

Both these Recipes are high on my daughters favorites list and The fact that Epicure products are so Healthy makes them High on mine as a Special breakfast treat.