A Book Review by Isaiah

Isaiah's writing assignment this week was to write a book review of his favorite book he has read this year. It took him awhile to decide because he said "they were all really good" but he finally settled on Frog and Toad are Friends. Below is his book review.



My favorite book is Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel. It is my favorite book because it is funny. In the book Frog and Toad want to hear a story. Toad tried everything to help himself think of story to tell. He banged his head. He poured water on his head. He stood upside down. But it was Frog how told the story of how Toad couldn't think of a story to tell. If you want to read a silly story, read this book.

A little of this and a little of that...

1. Big "Daddy" tadpole as the kids have loving named him has sprouted some back legs. It's very cool. He's by far the biggest of the five tadpoles and he's going to be a BIG frog! The boys are so excited!

2. So Isaiah has turned into quite the little reader. He is assigned a new book each week to be read Monday through Friday but he can never wait that long. He usually finishes it in two sittings. It has turned into a special for him and Elijah. They cuddle up somewhere and Isaiah will read to Elijah. It's absolutely adorable to hear Isaiah ask comprehension questions. (wonder where he got that from?) Today Isaiah finished Amelia Bedila and I just had to snap a few shots of the two of them. This is one of the special treats of homeschooling.






3. It's hard being a parent! As Peter reminded me last night so much is learned by example. That can be hard to hear when you know you miss the mark everyday. Yesterday was a character molding day. It was hard for me to stick to my guns and follow through with a punishment. We had a long talk about "justice and consequences" in response to my son asking for mercy. It can be easy to just give mercy as an easy way out of a situation. But I've been so convicted after hearing a comment from the speaker at the women's retreat. She just mentioned the trend she sees in society today where parents are afraid of their kids. And that kids run the show. I felt that pull yesterday. I didn't want my son to be angry at me for punishing him for something he did wrong. I didn't want him to be sad. I then realized punishing him was loving him. I explained to him how if he wanted to go on a hike down a path that I knew had a furious lion that wanted to eat him, I would not let him go. Even if he cried and begged, I wouldn't let him go. I would do everything in my power to keep him from going down that path. I explained to him it is the same with sin. Sin is a dangerous path,and Satan is like a roaring lion wanting to devour him and keep him from the path of what is right. God wants me as his mom to help keep him on the path that leads to God and sometimes that means having to punish him for wrongs he has done. It seemed to seep in. I was still sad that he probably went to bed mad at me. But today as we ate lunch he said "mom you're going to make a good grammie someday because you are such a nice mom now" So those fears are lie. Proverbs 31:28 Her sons rise up and call her blessed. Oh how I long to hear that!

He's too cute!

I just had to post a picture of my nephew Miguel. He's just too cute to keep to ourselves! LOVE HIM!

No Big 'Ol Fish Yet!

Peter has taken the kids out on the boat fishing since the ice melted,several times. They have yet to catch anything. They want to catch a fish and send the picture into "Big 'Ol Fish" on channel 2. Every time they see that segment they both get excited. I'll keep you posted on if that happens. Although we haven't caught anything, we sure have fun trying! It's teaching them a great lesson of perseverance! Peter did get a nibble that day.

The Simple Things

I've been plagued by allergies all week. (well what I think is allergies) I've been walking around in a haze. Yesterday we were going a little stir crazy so decided to take the kids on a nature hike up on "Trout Lake Ridge Trail" which is right up the road from our house. I whined a little because I have not been feeling all that great. But I went. The hike was just about an hour to the top and then back down. The boys loved it. Peter wanted to find the actual "lake" but to no avail. The weather was so strange. Beautiful blue skies, and then pouring rain. We had to find shelter under some trees. But the rain didn't dampen our fun. We just enjoyed our kids, talking with them, listening to them, getting to know them better. It was just a simple thing, but it is one of those things you do that is a memory and a memory that will bring a smile. One thing I learned about Isaiah is that he enjoys taking in God's creation. He seemed to enjoy being alone with his own thoughts and when something struck him he would chime in. Elijah on the other hand had to vocalize every discovery he saw and ask questions. They picked mom flowers, said hello to a little frog, inspected moose and deer droppings, and collected a few pretty rocks. A simple family day but what a blessing! No pictures we were too busy!

Children's Museum Field trip

We took a field trip to the Children's Discovery Museum with a group of homeschoolers today. The boys had so much fun. They've been there many times before but they never fail to have a blast. Elijah said his favorite part was "the creatures, the lizard with the blue tongue was my favorite" We had what they call a "creature feature". A staff member brought in 3 creatures for our group to get up close and personal with. Elijah was not shy in touching each creature, Isaiah on the other hand was much more cautious. Isaiah's favorite said his favorite part "was looking at the lizards. I liked the one that spit out a blue tongue." That would be the blue tongue lizard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-tongued_lizard Mom's favorite part of the field trip was watching how excited the boys were to be there. The had such a wonderful time and that was worth it for me! Here's a little slide show of the highlights!

We Love Mail!

The boys were so excited to get mail today. They each got a letter from Grandmama. Inside the letter was a McDonald's gift card. They are very excited to go out to lunch for "chicken nuggets and apple dippers with chocolate milk". They'll be sending a big thank you!

Woment's retreat Reflection

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
(Psa 56:3-4)



The women's retreat is always such a great time to get away from the distractions of everyday life and just sit at the feet of Jesus and learn. Every year I go expectant to hear God speak to me in a personal way. He never disappoints. He always meets me right where I am and speaks just the right words I need to hear.



This year the Lord really seemed to focus on my personal relationship with Him and one area in particular, trusting in Him. The very last song we sang I don't even remember what the name of it was but it just reaffirming that He is God, He is Lord. And just as I thought the Lord forgot to speak that personal word to me, there it was. He reminded me of how faithful He has been to me. How much He has blessed me. How His blessings are given despite me. When I was faithless, He was still faithful. When my prayers were faithless, He heard them and answered them. Not only did He answer them but He did exceedingly abundantly above what I asked. He has proven Himself to me. He deserves my trust, He although shouldn't have had to earn it He has earned it. He is worthy of my praise, and my very life. He also spoke to my fears. He has everything under control. And even if every blessing in my life should be taken away tomorrow He is still God and He has conquered sin and death. Nothing can touch me, since this world is just temporary. I have a hope and that hope is a source of comfort. I had a moment of true repentance for my fear and doubt and lack of true worship. Then He just flooded me with His mercy and love and I was really able to surrender more. He put my fears to rest just reminding me of His eternal promises that I need to lay hold of now. And I know I'll have moments of fear again but that they are unfounded, they are a lie, and He has proven Himself faithful.



Trusting in the Lord when things are good seems to come easy. Trusting in Him when things get rough certainly tests that trust. For me I don't want to wait until a trial comes, or my world is shaken to see if my trust in the Lord is true. I want to be a woman of the word, of prayer, standing on the firm foundation of Christ. I am so thankful that Lord had compassion on me to show me my fear was indeed lack of trust in Him.



How humbling that the Creator of the Universe is so concerned with my relationship with Him. Who am I?

I'm back

I haven't made an entry in awhile. Last week I was so sick. I haven't been that sick in a very long time. It's really no fun when mom gets sick. But Thursday I was feeling so much better and I was able to go away for the annual Calvary Chapel women's retreat in Bar Harbor. It was an amazing time of refreshing and I'll fill you in next entry. But I just wanted to make an entry to say we're all doing well.

A Mouse Tale :John the Mouse by :Isaiah

Isaiah read Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel a few weeks ago. For this weeks writing assignment Isaiah was asked to write his own "mouse tale". The only criteria was the main character had to be a mouse. The day before he wrote it he worked on who the main character would be, the setting, and the plot of the story. With that in place he completed his "mouse tale"yesterday. He drew pictures to go along with the story but I will just publish his story here.

A Mouse Tale: John the Mouse

By: Isaiah

Once there was a mouse named John. John, the mouse liked to take walks in the city. His favorite time to walk was in the summer. It was warm and dry. He liked the blue sky.

One summer day, John the mouse took a walk. It was very hot. He did not like it that hot. So John turned back to go to his house. He found a dollar on the sidewalk. He had an idea.

He walked to the ice cream stand. He bought a chocolate ice cream with the dollar. John was cool now.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Peter's birthday. (despite my attempt every year to make it the 6th) He is in the middle of shutdown at the mill so he spent ALL day there. But the kids and I were busy today making things special for when he got home. We made a large "happy birthday" banner, homemade wrapping paper for his new "Hymns worship" cd, and then we made a baseball cake. The cake came out so cute. It actually fell right in line with Elijah's' social studies lesson. He is still learning about community helpers and this week was "the baker". So he got to help bake and decorate daddy's birthday cake. I love that about homeschooling. Life is learning! Peter is not much of a birthday person. "Don't make a big deal", he says. But I AM a birthday person and I couldn't let the day go by without doing a little something. Peter is such an awesome dad, and the boys just think the world of him. I am so thankful that our sons have a godly man to follow after. They want to be like their dad, and their dad wants to be like Jesus. Peter is also an amazing husband. I know I don't praise him enough for being the wonderful man in my life that he is. So here for all the world to read...my husband is awesome and I love him!

Making the Happy Birthday Banner

Elijah aka the little baker frosting

the cake

The finsished baseball cake. Peter

told us he always had a baseball

cake as a kid.

Happy Birthday to you!

New Tadepoles

So when I thought all our tadpoles were dead , I ordered 5 new ones from a different website. They came yesterday and boy did they give us a shock. I thought they would be just like the ones we had before but alive. These new fellas are HUGE. I don't think they are the same although they both claim to be leopard frogs. Who knows what will emerge from these 5 new guys. We have them in a separate tank....I was afraid they'd eat our little loner. The kids are excited because these ones are big enough to look at without a magnifying class. Isn't homeschooling fun! It's such an adventure!

Let your light shine

Isaiah started baseball yesterday at the little local school up the street. He practiced throwing, catching and hitting off the tee. He loves to go there and interact with the kids. I am beginning to see the Lord work in his life and how he is becoming a witness for Him. They may be just small things to some but they speak volumes to my heart. A kid came up to the tee, he swung missed the ball and a large group of kids burst out in laughter. But Isaiah called out "that's ok try again". It really blessed me to see him have compassion on this kid. Now I am not saying my Isaiah or Elijah are perfect...who is. But I do think it's important as parents to point out when they have behavior that is glorifying to the Lord. Not to puff him up, but to encourage him in the right.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
(Mat 5:16)

Hike

Peter and Isaiah went with a group from church on a hike in Springfield. Isaiah had a great time. When they got home I asked Isaiah what his favorite part was and he said "the bible story". He also liked spending time with his friends. I snagged these pics from another family who went on the trip. When they got home, Elijah (who was too young to go) insisted he and daddy go on their own hike. So they headed up a little mountain down the road. Daddy time is the best!

A hard Goodbye!

Serenity leaves us tomorrow. We have all grown very attached to this little girl. It's very hard for me personally to let her go. I will not go into details but I just pray that Lord brings her back into our lives often so we can share Him with her and just show her love. I am so thankful for the time we had with her the past 9 days. She was just a joy to have in our house. We will miss our little pumpkin do!

Tadpoles

We got a frog hatchery kit. Last week our tadpoles arrived in the mail. There were 6 in all. By the second day they were all dead. Well we thought they were all dead. As I was getting ready to put them down the drain I noticed one little tadpole moving. We had a lone survivor. We do have some more tadpoles on the way, but this one is thriving. He's doubled in his size. We are anxious to see him transform into a leopard frog. We'll keep you updated on his progress.

**Fireworks**

Elijah is studying the season of summer in science. He is learning about the many things that summer brings. Today we made fireworks paintings. (4th of July is in summer) We took pipe cleaners and twisted them into a star shape and then used them as a "stamp" to create a firework effect. Then we made fire works with glue and decorated them with red, silver, and blue star glitter. They were a big hit.