Oh I wish I were a Glow Worm....

"Oh I wish I were a glow worm
Cause I glow worms never glum
How can you be glum
When the sun shines from your bum?"

I feel trapped. This not being able to walk up and down the stairs thing dosnt work for me... I can't go out because we have stairs that lead out and I can't go to my own space because my own space is at the bottom of the stairs inside... It makes me feel so exposed and bummed... Poohy.... I just want to get better now... Thinks Heel shopping is in order once I am better.

Life must go on!

This Weeks Topics
Bible Study:
Math: More About Shapes
English: Pronouns
Socials: Land and Water in Canada
Sciences: Natural Structures

Life Waits for No Man... or in my case Woman...

Yesterday was the big day. I had surgery on my foot. The Doctor went in and and removed the tumor from my toe and replaced the bone with some from my heal on the same foot. It was quite the experience. Being awake for the whole thing was not something I minded but it was taking forever for the toe to freeze and then When the Doc had to go back into my heal to remove some more bone the freezing was starting to come out. That was a feeling I never want to experience ever again and I wish it upon no other. I have to thank my amazing sister-in-law for making sure I got to the hospital for my surgery and keeping Rebecca entertained for me and I have to thank her for doing it all while quietly in pain herself. She is a remarkable woman who gives so much of herself for her family. She did take my advice on the way passed moms office to stop and mom was able to take lunch off to get Donna back up to the hospital and return me to the comfort of home. The nice thing about day Surgery is I am able to be at home for the entire recovery process. I can't get down the stairs currently to my room but I should be able to conquer the stairs in the next day or 2.

Even after surgery life must continue as normally as possible. Today Rebecca is back to schooling, We have moved it upstairs for a couple days but we must accommodate mommy some how. Grandpa is home for a few days and is going to make sure that Rebecca gets to swimming today and dance tomorrow. I am very thankful that I have such wonderful parents. So here we go continuing on as life waits for no Man, or in my case Woman, to recover.

This Weeks Topics
Bible Study: Daniel and The Lions
Math: 2-D Shapes
English: Subjects
Socials: Streets and Distances
Science: Structure Around Us
Art: More Christmas Crafts
Physical Education: Swimming(Tues&Thurs)and Dance(Wed)

Countdown Generator

Two more weeks Until Until Mid Year Review

Where is time going? We are so busy with school and other activities that it seems like time is flying by. I'm finding it hard to believe that in two weeks Rebecca will be doing her Mid Year Reviews. She continues to work hard although today was a bit of a rough day. A little cranky maybe a bit under the weather. She lost her second tooth today and was so excited but she was still cranky. I personally continue to work on organizing my fundraiser Event for Diabetes and am very excited and continue to pray that God will help guide everything into place.

This Weeks Topics:
Bible Study: Moses
Math: Money
English: Capital Letters
Social Studies: More about Community Workers
Science: Reuse and Recycle

Let the Busy Bee's Do their thing....

So we have started yet another week of school.. Crazy to think that today marks 11 weeks already. Man do we ever have a busy week.

Today was simple yet full... I guess that's to be expected when you take on home schooling as way of education for your child. Tuesday We have to get school done and I have a meeting to attend in the afternoon. Wednesday brings Dentist in the morning (which fits in nicely with Social Studies this week), Throw some school into the middle and head off for Dance in the late afternoon. Thursday brings, of course, more school and the start of Tennis. This of course is something Rebecca is very much looking forward to. Friday we are making popsicles as part of science which should be fun. Rebecca got really excited when she heard this part of the school week plan and feels the need to share it with everyone she sees...and quite loudly I might add.

This Weeks Topics:
Bible Study: Jacob and Esau
Math: 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's
English: Sentences
Social Studies: Health Workers
Science: Changing Materials

One Busy Week and 2 new missions

As we rapidly approach the end of another week I am tired and excited.

We are greatly enjoying the fellowship we are sharing at the new church while Our Pastor and his family are away for the next year. The people are kind and passionate for God's work and it truly brings a smile to my face and lights a fire to continue pursuing the things I am passionate about. We enjoyed a wonderful potluck meal after church on Sunday and I was able to sit down and chat some more with a few of the ladies about homeschooling and life in general. On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed the care home service which happened to be where my Grams is living and I was so happy she decided to join us for the service.

Monday we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with family and a couple of friends. My mother lovingly prepared the food and we all happily enjoyed it... MMMmmm Homemade stuffing Balls... If you have never tried these you have no idea what you are missing... The company was wonderful and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Of course Turkey broth was made that night and in the morning put away so I could make soup.

On Tuesday we joined some more family to celebrate my young cousins 13th Birthday and it was nice time to socialize and visit with family that we don't spend nearly enough time with.

Wednesday was another day of dance. Rebecca is enjoying her classes so far and looks forward to the weeks to come.

This week I also decided to get back on the Team Diabetes Canada trail that I set out on 2 years ago when I joined and raised money and participated in the O.I.M. Thanksgiving Weekend in 2007 where I participated in the 10K. In 2010 I will participating in a 5K as part of the 10 in 2010 Team Diabetes Canada Anniversary Celebration. The fund raising has begun yet again. I will post more on how you can donate and get involved in a later post.

Today I decided to continue my mission on promoting Positive self-esteem in girls and women and have decided to take the facilitators training from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. I look forward to hosting a workshop in the new year as this is something that I am very passionate about.

May you follow the path that God has placed in front of you and use his gifts as a blessing to others.

STOP FAT TALK

Ups and Downs

It's been a pretty busy week so far. School has been going well. Rebecca continues to amaze me every day. She also started Dance today and couldn't have been happier about the class and making new friends.

I found out yesterday that I my story maybe shared in a wonderful book that is going to be put out about www.operationbeautiful.com and the wonderful work it's doing promoting the fact that all women are beautiful.

I unfortunately also received some sad news yesterday that a girl I was friends with in Jr. High and High school passed away. My understanding was that it was complications do to H1N1 (swine flu). She was only 25 years old. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family as they deal with their loss and also to the families of others lost to this terrible pandemic.

I think tomorrow we will try and relax after school. Friday we are planning to spend some time with the pastors family before they leave next week. I don't think I will get on again until after the weekend so I wish you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Dance, Tennis, Swimming and Turkey...

This week will be busy so I figure I will write my blog for the beginning of the week tonight instead of Monday as per the norm.

Rebecca is getting excited about all her new activities that will be coming up. Starting this week on Wednesday she will be taking Combo Dance (ballet, Jazz and Tap). She has been talking about joining dance for some time now and after meeting a friend of my bothers in AB last weekend who happens to be a dance instructor Rebecca is more drawn to it. This very kind young girl gave her some ballet shoes, a dance suit and some custom CD's full of dance music. This of course only lit the fire to dance that much more. I am sure this will be a very rewarding experience for her and who knows where it may take her.

On October 22nd Little Miss will be starting a 4 week Tennis Program for young children. She is also very excited about this and it will give her something a little extra before swimming starts in November... Yup three very physical activities and all at her own choosing. I am very proud of my girl for wanting to try two new things as well as get back into swimming. She has also been talking about an Olympic Prep Diving program for Children. I told her we will talk about it some more after more lessons and she can possibly join up next year. We can only do so much at once right?

So off we go on week 7 of school and prepare ourselves for Thanksgiving and yet more new adventures.

This Weeks Topics:
Bible Study: Joseph
Math: More Addition and Subtraction
English: Sentances
Social Studies: Service Workers
Science: Objects and Materials
Art Projects: Lots of Autumn and Thanksgiving art for us this week...

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.

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

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!

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.