Tonight we celebrated the First Sunday of Advent. This year, Lexi got the honor of lighting the first candle (Hope). We have some great activities on our calendar for the week along with a great Advent devotion we will do each day.
Thanksgiving Day was wonderful! Great time with good friends and amazing food! We are still enjoying all the leftovers - Devin called last night's dinner Thanksgiving Round 2. So far this holiday weekend I have finished up shopping for Christmas (just a few little things left to buy), packed up all the fall decor, pulled all the Christmas decorations out of storage with help from my husband and kids, and put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. Still on my to do list: address all of our Christmas cards, decorate the house for Christmas (we are hosting our Sunday School class Christmas party in just one week), prepare our Advent countdown (I will post that project later), and prepare our Advent daily lesson plans.
Today I am so thankful for all the way God blesses our lives. The kids and I have enjoyed writing down all the things we are thankful for over the last few weeks and placing those blessings on our "Thankful Tree".
I am thankful this morning that most of the Thanksgiving prep is done - just a few things to warm up this morning and we will be heading soon to our friends' home to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with them - the kids are so excited to play with their friends and that a special "Charlie Brown" Thanksgiving has been prepared just for them (think popcorn and jelly beans) But, first, we will all gather around the television to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade - one of our loved traditions on Thanksgiving Day.
After a two week movie watching marathon of Harry Potter movies 1 - 6 our family went this weekend to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 with a few of our good friends! My kids had to dress up and convinced our friends to join in on the fun. The movie was definitely one of the scariest in the series so far but, an excellent movie and, it also had some lighter moments which seemed to balance everything out.
We cannot wait until summer and the release of Part 2!
This past week we had our November field trip. Our homeschool group went to the Fernbank museum to see a new exhibit and an IMax movie. The exhibit - Water H2O Life was great! So many interactive areas and the kids seemed to be engaged by it all. We ended up going through twice because, we had less than an hour the first time before our movie began. The kids always enjoy exhibits with lots of hands on learning opportunities. The IMax movie entitled "Mystery of the Nile River"was also really good! It chronicled the first successful journey by an expedition team down the Nile River from source to the Mediterranean Sea. Though we had studied this river before and I knew it was dangerous I had no idea it was the most dangerous river in the world. The hour long movie kept us all on the edge of our seats and reminded me of Disney's Soarin with all the fly overs. The only glitch in our day was the fact that our youngest had drank a bottle of water on our trip to the museum and apparently had an upset stomach because, said contents of her stomach came back up as we were standing in line for the movie. Thankfully, I was surrounded by friends who were happy to watch my children and my friend's sons who I also had with me as she was under the weather. I just prayed as Ava Mae and I went dashing out of the theater that we would make it to a bathroom in time - thankfully we did and she never got sick again. Ava Mae made a quick recovery and was bouncing around by afternoon and completely fine by evening which was a good thing as yesterday was her Thanksgiving Play and she did not want to miss it. Ava Mae was an Indian just like her sister Lexi a few years ago in the same Kindergarten Play. They always get picked for that part as they need girls with long hair that can be braided. :) Ava Mae was adorable as were the rest of the kids in the class!
Looking forward to next week - just three days of school with no extra-curricular activities and one of those days the kids will get to spend at my husband's office. The day before Thanksgiving his company sends everyone home at noon and there is never anyone in the office anyway so he lets the kids tag along - they love it. On Monday and Tuesday we will be working on our Pilgrim Lapbook.
Last week I hosted a Jolee's Jewels House Party at my home for a few friends. We all got the opportunity to make swarovski crystal bracelets. I have to say I was a little intimidated at first (I am first and foremost a paper crafter) but, following the step-by-step video that Jolee's Jewels provided made making the bracelets super easy! The hardest part was deciding what beads we wanted to use and what pattern we wanted them to go in. It was a great way to jump start everyone's Christmas crafting.
I wanted to share the fun we had with my blog readers and so I have a prize pack for you too! I will include two packages of swarovski crystal beads, a crystal pendant, and toggle. I will also include Beadalon wire, crimps, and a jump ring for you to complete your project. The only tool you will need is a pair of needle nose pliers. To enter the giveaway just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite craft project is. I will use a random number generator to select the winner on Wednesday, November 25th at Noon.
Disclosure: Thank you to Jolee's Jewels and House Party who provided me with all the materials needed for my beading party and the items offered in the prize pack.
I am linking this post up to The Girl Creative's Just Something I Whipped Up Link Party. Jump on over to her blog and see all the great items everyone is whipping up!
We like to focus each November on Thanks and Giving ... one of our traditions is our Thankful Tree. Each school day the kids and I write out something we are thankful for and hang it on our Thankful Tree. It is so nice on Thanksgiving to read out loud what everyone is thankful for.
Another tradition is celebrating Thanksgiving with our homeschool friends by packing Operation Christmas Child boxes. It is something we look forward to every year. Today was our party and after packing boxes the kids enjoyed craft projects, pizza, and lots of playtime with friends.
Last night was Devin and Lexi's Fall Musical Performance at our church. Devin was so happy to have his first speaking part!
The musical was wonderful and Lexi had so much fun marching in the opening parade scene. We are blessed to have such a talented children's choir director who wrote last night's musical - King David and the National Treasure.
Now the kids begin work on their Christmas performances - hard to believe those are just a month away.
Just a reminder, if you haven't done so already, jump over to this post and sign up for a free box of Fiber One Cereal and register for the gift pack General Mills is giving away on my blog.Fiber One Cereal Giveaway
So how do you start your day? I know how important breakfast is but, many mornings it just seems like our day gets going and somehow breakfast has slipped my mind. Thankfully, my kids have not adopted that bad habit. One of the first things they do in the morning is make themselves something to eat. I have been trying lately to make wiser choices on Weight Watchers and so you can imagine when My Blog Spark and Fiber One gave me an opportunity to try out their Fiber One cereal I jumped at the chance.
I have to say I was a little skeptical about the taste when I first read there was 14 grams of fiber in one serving. I was pleasantly surprised! The cereal is actually really good, even my 8 year old loves it. My favorite way to eat it is with a cup of fat free milk and sliced bananas - a 3 point breakfast on WW and so filling. I love making it through the morning without the need to snack. Many mornings when I skip breakfast by lunch I am starving and I grab the first thing I see - not always the wisest choice. Fiber One wants you all to have an opportunity to try out their cereal and see for yourself how great it tastes and how filling it can be. The first 15 readers to click on the site below will receive a free box of Fiber One cereal.
Fiber One sent me a gift pack (pictured below) along with the Fiber One cereal and guess what? They are letting me give away a gift pack to one of my readers! The "Help Take the Hunger out of Dieting" prize pack includes a box of Fiber One Original cereal, a cereal-on-the-go container, food scale, water bottle and notepad for tracking what you eat.
To enter, just leave me a comment telling me your go to breakfast to start your day. I will choose a random winner, a week from today, on November 16th. To earn an extra entry post about my giveaway on your blog or facebook and link back to this post - then just leave another comment letting me know what you did.
Disclosure: General Mills provided me a box of Fiber One Cereal, a prize pack and information about their product through MyBlogSpark.com.
Yesterday our youngest turned 6 years old ... I cannot believe Ava Mae is six. Ava is our "cruise director" she wakes up with a plan for each day. Her love for Jesus is amazing and I will often find her singing praise and worship songs as she goes through her day.
Ava decided a few weeks ago that she would love to have a Pinkalicious Party - pink being her favorite color. Today was the party and it was so much fun! Here is a peek into our party ... we made crowns, wands and bottle cap necklaces plus, we decorated cupcakes for everyone to take home in pink chinese take out boxes. Happy Birthday our sweet, beautiful, passionate Ava Mae!
This post linked up to Be Different Act Normal's Saturday Show and Tell ...
Tonight we celebrated the First Sunday of Advent. This year, Lexi got the honor of lighting the first candle (Hope). We have some great activities on our calendar for the week along with a great Advent devotion we will do each day.
Thanksgiving Day was wonderful! Great time with good friends and amazing food! We are still enjoying all the leftovers - Devin called last night's dinner Thanksgiving Round 2.
So far this holiday weekend I have finished up shopping for Christmas (just a few little things left to buy), packed up all the fall decor, pulled all the Christmas decorations out of storage with help from my husband and kids, and put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. Still on my to do list: address all of our Christmas cards, decorate the house for Christmas (we are hosting our Sunday School class Christmas party in just one week), prepare our Advent countdown (I will post that project later), and prepare our Advent daily lesson plans.
Hope y'all are enjoying this holiday weekend!
Today I am so thankful for all the way God blesses our lives. The kids and I have enjoyed writing down all the things we are thankful for over the last few weeks and placing those blessings on our "Thankful Tree".
I am thankful this morning that most of the Thanksgiving prep is done - just a few things to warm up this morning and we will be heading soon to our friends' home to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with them - the kids are so excited to play with their friends and that a special "Charlie Brown" Thanksgiving has been prepared just for them (think popcorn and jelly beans) But, first, we will all gather around the television to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade - one of our loved traditions on Thanksgiving Day.
This past week we had our November field trip. Our homeschool group went to the Fernbank museum to see a new exhibit and an IMax movie. The exhibit - Water H2O Life was great! So many interactive areas and the kids seemed to be engaged by it all. We ended up going through twice because, we had less than an hour the first time before our movie began. The kids always enjoy exhibits with lots of hands on learning opportunities. The IMax movie entitled "Mystery of the Nile River"was also really good! It chronicled the first successful journey by an expedition team down the Nile River from source to the Mediterranean Sea. Though we had studied this river before and I knew it was dangerous I had no idea it was the most dangerous river in the world. The hour long movie kept us all on the edge of our seats and reminded me of Disney's Soarin with all the fly overs. The only glitch in our day was the fact that our youngest had drank a bottle of water on our trip to the museum and apparently had an upset stomach because, said contents of her stomach came back up as we were standing in line for the movie. Thankfully, I was surrounded by friends who were happy to watch my children and my friend's sons who I also had with me as she was under the weather. I just prayed as Ava Mae and I went dashing out of the theater that we would make it to a bathroom in time - thankfully we did and she never got sick again.
Ava Mae made a quick recovery and was bouncing around by afternoon and completely fine by evening which was a good thing as yesterday was her Thanksgiving Play and she did not want to miss it. Ava Mae was an Indian just like her sister Lexi a few years ago in the same Kindergarten Play. They always get picked for that part as they need girls with long hair that can be braided. :) Ava Mae was adorable as were the rest of the kids in the class!
Looking forward to next week - just three days of school with no extra-curricular activities and one of those days the kids will get to spend at my husband's office. The day before Thanksgiving his company sends everyone home at noon and there is never anyone in the office anyway so he lets the kids tag along - they love it. On Monday and Tuesday we will be working on our Pilgrim Lapbook.
Last week I hosted a Jolee's Jewels House Party at my home for a few friends. We all got the opportunity to make swarovski crystal bracelets. I have to say I was a little intimidated at first (I am first and foremost a paper crafter) but, following the step-by-step video that Jolee's Jewels provided made making the bracelets super easy! The hardest part was deciding what beads we wanted to use and what pattern we wanted them to go in. It was a great way to jump start everyone's Christmas crafting.
I wanted to share the fun we had with my blog readers and so I have a prize pack for you too! I will include two packages of swarovski crystal beads, a crystal pendant, and toggle. I will also include Beadalon wire, crimps, and a jump ring for you to complete your project. The only tool you will need is a pair of needle nose pliers.
To enter the giveaway just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite craft project is. I will use a random number generator to select the winner on Wednesday, November 25th at Noon.
We like to focus each November on Thanks and Giving ... one of our traditions is our Thankful Tree. Each school day the kids and I write out something we are thankful for and hang it on our Thankful Tree. It is so nice on Thanksgiving to read out loud what everyone is thankful for.
Another tradition is celebrating Thanksgiving with our homeschool friends by packing Operation Christmas Child boxes. It is something we look forward to every year. Today was our party and after packing boxes the kids enjoyed craft projects, pizza, and lots of playtime with friends.
Last night was Devin and Lexi's Fall Musical Performance at our church. Devin was so happy to have his first speaking part!
The musical was wonderful and Lexi had so much fun marching in the opening parade scene.
We are blessed to have such a talented children's choir director who wrote last night's musical - King David and the National Treasure.
Now the kids begin work on their Christmas performances - hard to believe those are just a month away.
To enter, just leave me a comment telling me your go to breakfast to start your day. I will choose a random winner, a week from today, on November 16th. To earn an extra entry post about my giveaway on your blog or facebook and link back to this post - then just leave another comment letting me know what you did.
Yesterday our youngest turned 6 years old ... I cannot believe Ava Mae is six. Ava is our "cruise director" she wakes up with a plan for each day. Her love for Jesus is amazing and I will often find her singing praise and worship songs as she goes through her day. 
Happy Birthday our sweet, beautiful, passionate Ava Mae!
