My latest read-aloud book with N & J is Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen, It's about a 12 yo boy who gets an old lawn mower from his grandmother for his birthday. He, quite accidentally, starts a lawn mowing business that continues to grow with the help of a hippie financial advisor/stock broker! It's a little peculiar, but it's a great introduction to economics, captalism (in a time when it's becoming politically incorrect), the stock market, etc. It's kind of funny and kind of wacky. Nathan got it for Christmas from my brother-in-law. Don't know if he knew what it was about. Nathan's read it twice, but he liked it enough for me to read it aloud to Jared and him.

In my last post, I talked about the movie Pendragon, Sword of His Father. Here's a photo of the dvd case.

great movie!

Love to see Jared reading. He doesn't take the time to read for entertainment. He's too busy. He reads his Bible! Almost every night. So I can't say he never reads. He's very capable.

Jared reading Frightful's Mountain

Owen with our neighbor's grandson, Kyle (10 mos. younger than Owen)

Owen is NOT a slave to fashion! With Jared and his new life vest!

Until next time...

blessings, joie

Greetings!

Last week I watched a great movie with the boys (not Owen) that I had purchased. As you may know, I'm very particular about what my boys view and listen to. Well, this
one was perfect for them! It had a hero, a villian, action, adventure, battles, defeat, victory, sadness, happiness, and more! The movie is called Pendragon, Sword of His Father. You can see a movie trailer by going to the website. It's set in 411 A.D. on the Isle of Brittania when the Saxons wanted control of the island.

It's recommended for 12+, but it was fine for Jared. However, it might not be for other 10 year olds.


Owen made a gift for his daddy for father's day...

The photo is from 2.5 years ago!
Jim had never seen it!

Nathan and Jared made pizza for Father's Day dinner. I napped on Father's Day--4 of us have had colds. Mine is on the downside and N & J are almost done. Owen, fortunately, didn't have it too badly.

Tonight I finished reading aloud On The Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. It was a great story, and what made it extra cool was that it was set in the Catskill and Helderberg Mountains. My mother grew up near the Helderbergs, and all the towns the characters went through were all familiar to me! This is the 2nd book in a series by Mrs. George. The last book, Frightful's Mountain Jared wants to read by himself. He's not much of a reader, so I'm happy to let him! Nathan's not too happy, because he really enjoys me reading aloud to them. Nathan has already read all three books, but he wants me to read them aloud. He's my reader. He'll read just about anything. We'll just have to find another book to read aloud. I have several to choose from.

It's been a strange June. It's been hot here and there, cool at times, rainy at times. We haven't put our Intex pool up yet, pretty much because it hasn't been hot very long. NOW, it's hot! Jim wants to make a wooden frame and fill it with sand to put the pool on. Last year, it was in a spot that never dried, and it smelled like cows lived here! We're very limited to where we can put it because we want to keep it as level as possible. The boys are complaining alot today about the heat! And I'm limited to Jim's days off--which we never know from week to week when they'll be! For instance, he just found out an hour ago (3:30) that he has tomorrow off!

Until next time...

blessings, joie

HAPPY MONDAY!

A couple days ago, Nathan made a butterfly habitat in hopes of raising butterflies this summer. I think we'll do nature studies as our science this summer! Plus the boys are designing their own houses on graph paper--there's your math!

Owen with his homemade Bible Man suit of armor

Haven't been able to make any pages lately--here are a couple pages from the past.

Jared 1 & 2 years old!

Still bewildered over the appeal of Facebook. I'll admit, it's been cool finding people that I've lost touch with over the years and a few people from my distant past. Not sure the appeal of the quizzes and games and such. I guess when I want to write what's on my mind, I have more to say than most! One line just doesn't do it for me! That's why I enjoy updating my blog. I'd much rather have many people following my blog than large numbers of "friends" on Facebook -- C'mon now, are ALL those people really your friends?! HEY, that's just me!

Until next time,..

blessings, joie

LONG MAY SHE WAVE! HAPPY FLAG DAY 2009!

Please add yourself as a "follower" to my blog! I love to see new people watching, AND I love comments. It's very encouraging and inspiring! As a stay-at-homeschooling mom, I get little encouragement! {sniff, sniff, sigh}

It doesn't phase Owen at all to put on two different shoes. Now, these are the same size flip flops, just different colors; BUT he's walked out the back door before wearing a rubber rainboot and a sandal--because that's all he could find! It's unbelievable to me! Its happened more than once that I've had to call him back inside for mismatched shoes! It's just laziness--and its not that important to him!

Someday I'll do a scrapbook page with the title something like "He has another pair JUST like it!" He's a hoot!

Menu planning--a project that we're working on--with the help and encouragement of Nathan. Basically it was his idea. I'm terrible at that stuff. I do a lot of things (like preparing dinner) by the seat of my pants--YIKES! First we made a list of meals that we like and have had in the past and then a list of things we'd like to try. From there we'll plan weekly menus. If anybody knows of a website that helps with menu planning, please let me know! Nathan is a great help at making meals. One thing I hate to do is pound out chicken breasts--he's happy to do! And I'm happy to let him! We're in the process of looking up new recipes on http://www.allrecipes.com/! I use that all the time! I want to do a lot of crockpot cooking this summer. We don't have central air, and I hate to run the oven on a hot day! Any favorite recipes, please pass them on!

looking for recipes in the boys' Emeril cookbooks!

my cute boy!

Speaking of my cute boy... he's been quite a handful lately. Remember the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead? Well, that's my boy. He's the sweetest, most loving little guy. But he's also, at times, HORRID! "I don't like you!" "I wish I didn't have a mother!" "You beat everything, you know that!" (taken from an Andy Griffith episode when Barney is mad at Andy) I don't like this new stage. It's a constant battle. I know I'm fighting the 'enemy' (no, not Owen!) My own armor is rusty and crumbling. I think I'd better try God's armor--DUH! Shame on me for not already having done so! Am I the only one who tries--in vain--to solve problems on my own strength?! I'm great at trying to teach my children God's ways, but I often forget that His Word applies to me too!

Church today was a battle. First of all, Jim was home with a migraine. Owen wouldn't sit still in church. He was being punky. Now before you say "oh, he's just a little boy!"... He's perfectly capable to sitting quietly in church. Between the singing and a bookbag filled with books for him to read during the sermon, he does just fine every week. Believe it or not, I had to take him out of the sanctuary. I've been listening to The Strong-Willed Child (Dobson) on audio, and I was reminded that I can't back down. It was not a pleasant hour, but he didn't win--get to do things he wanted. He had to stay with me--no playing, reading or going for walks. Nathan & Jared stayed in the sanctuary by themselves. I knew they'd be fine, and there were plenty of friends around them to keep an eye on them. The only thing was, I understand, Jared kept looking up the aisle waiting for me to come back. I should've sent word that I wouldn't be. Live and learn. Can I just say that having 3 strong-willed boys is exhausting?! I know that being diligent in raising them right is imperative, but its still exhausting!!

Have to get dinner on and get the boys to rehearsal for 6! Until next time...

blessings, joie

WE HAVE BUTTERFLIES!

Please add yourself as a "follower" to my blog! I love to see new people watching, AND I love comments. It's very encouraging and inspiring! As a stay-at-homeschooling mom, I get little encouragement! {sniff, sniff, sigh}

All five Painted Lady butterflies have emerged -- over a 3-day period. We were even blessed to watch ONE emerge! Its incredible! God is AWESOME! The rest snuck out while our backs were turned--literally! I checked on them one time, took a phone call from Jim, turned back, and one was out! It was a much quicker process than I had thought it would be. We'll probably release them today or tomorrow--depending on the weather. We keep them fed by putting sugar water on tissues at the bottom of the habitat. Pictures don't come out well because the habitat has a tight mesh, and its not great to see through.

Doing the Facebook thing--was reluctant at first. Found a few people from my past life--that was cool! Still prefer my blog.

The boys have rehearsal for the VBS play this afternoon, plus I have other errands to run. I wish Jim didn't have to work every Saturday, but I guess that's just the way it is right now.

Owen is getting really good at the rope swing!

sweet picture of my niece

Chloe's quite the conversationalist--chatting with Uncle Jim

Until next time...

blessings, joie

Please add yourself as a "follower" to my blog! I love to see new people watching, AND I love comments. It's very encouraging and inspiring! As a stay-at-homeschooling mom, I get little encouragement! {sniff, sniff, sigh}

This past weekend we FINALLY had a family get together for Nathan's and Jared's birthdays (from Feb. & Mar.)! I'd been putting off doing anything because our downstairs bathroom is under construction. So when I mentioned it to Donna a couple weeks ago, she said, "why don't you just have it here!" So, we did! I've referred to Donna's as "party central" for several years now! We had good food and a nice visit with my family. The boys were happy to get bowling gc's and a pass to the local fun park -- where they like to drive go-karts!

Jared's been trying to "pop-a-wheelie" for a little while. He was so happy tonight when he finally did it!

my littlest monkey on the rope swing!

Old page I did years ago with Creative Memories--Nathan at 2+ with Jim's Dad.

We don't realize just how precious our pages are until special people we love are no longer with us. I have many more pages that I need to do of Nathan and his Papa -- and some of Jared, who was only 7 months old when his grandfather took a turn for the worst and 9 months old when he died...

note: our butterflies are safely tucked away in their chrysalids undergoing the amazing transformation that God is orchestrating! I'll give you pics and more info when we have butterflies! Can't wait to take pictures and do a page! OMGosh!! I just looked over and saw a butterfly!!!

Until next time...

blessings, joie