abundantly blessed

My goodness! The time has flown by. My last post was in Feb. of this year and now it is already November......time passes too quickly.
So let's see, when I last left off I had posted about our snowfall. Since then we have been through spring, summer and now we are pretty deep into fall. The time changed this week, making it feel even more like fall with the dark evenings. Oh, how I wish I was better at keeping up with my blog. It would be so great to have a daily or even weekly post with pictures to remember the days of our lives with. But alas, an update every once in awhile is better than no update at all.
The lapsed seasons were full of blessings. The Lord is so faithful and good to us. He is daily with us, guiding us in the ways which we should go. I will try not to let a day go by where I do not take the time to express my gratitude to my Saviour. We have been memorizing the scripture from Ephesians, "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Eph 2:8-9
There is not one thing I can do to earn my God's love, forgiveness, and favor. It is only through God's amazing grace that I can be loved by Him, forgiven by Him and favored in His eyes.
During this season of "thanksgiving" let me all the more turn my thanks to the One who loves me.
Our California trip this summer was so dear to me because the Lord, in His sweetness, chose to bless us. I am so grateful that my eyes were open to the nearness of the Lord. He put a rainbow in the sky for Jonah and I to admire as we looked out the airplane window. Jonah was quick to recognize it as a reminder from the Lord that He was watching out for us on our trip. California was an amazing adventure full of energy and excursions as well as highways and hotels. Three weeks were spent there visiting San Francisco, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. We took in all the sights and truly enjoyed our time exploring California as a family. On our return trip the Lord placed another rainbow in the sky, a big, beautiful, full, double rainbow put there as if to say, "Welcome home, I was with you at the beginning, in the middle and here am I with you at the end of your adventure." I know others could see the rainbow, but I am pretty sure that one was meant just for me :-)
So here we are, about to wind down another year. In the beginning of the year and throughout the year His abundant blessings have flowed. May my eyes be attentive to the blessings surrounding me as we walk through the upcoming holiday season!

Hump Day!!!

Well, it was back to normal today, and that includes the weather.

Mr. Snowman still sits on our trampoline but he is getting smaller by the minute.

The skies were sunny today and temps were in the 50's. I'll take that! That is what I love about Texas.....spring like weather last weekend, winter on Tuesday, blue skies and sunshine by Wednesday.

My crew and I were back to regular school as well. We had a pretty normal day. Rebekah had been asking me to make a sticker chart for them to earn stickers. Once the chart is full they earn $5.00! Not a bad gig! It will take them 20 days of good attitudes and good work to fill the chart. I am happy to say they all have earned their first sticker!

Fittingly, I am doing a Bible study all about attitude. It is by James Mac Donald and is called, Lord, Change My Attitude. Maybe I should make a sticker chart for myself. What kind of space would I have filled in for today? A cute sticker or a big blank spot waiting for a better day?

Hmmmm.....

Happy hump day!!!

It's SNOWING in Central Texas!!!! Not just little snow flurries but big, fat, giant snowflakes!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! I feel like a little kid :-)

I have given my kids the day off from school...one of the beauty parts of homeschooling. We are observing and interacting with the weather today!

Well, well, well...it has been over a year since I last posted on my blog! Excuses?.....I've got 'em!
Mostly the fact that I am not very good at it!
I have been reading a gal's blog that has spurred me on to want to try again. http://www.katheats.com/ is the name of her blog. She is an eater of whole, real food, something I am interested in doing better. I stumbled upon her blog one day last week and have been enjoying learning from it. I have even tried a recipe for kale chips! My kids even tried it...they taste like potato chips....bit of an after taste though! I was proud of us for trying something new!
I think I may have even discovered an enjoyment for oatmeal!!!! I have tried, and tried, and tried again to develop a love for a bowl of oatmeal but it has eluded me....up until this point!
I have discovered the perfect bowl of oatmeal!!! I actually look forward to my bowl of oatmeal!!
The secret is in the mix-ins!!!! My favorite way to make it right now is a 1/4 cup oatmeal mixed with a cup of milk. Bring to a boil and then...get this....cut up 1/2 a banana and toss into the oatmeal. Let it simmer for about 10- 20 minutes..the banana melts right in giving it a yummy nanner flavor. I then top it with walnuts and then for the best part......a dollop of peanut butter or almond butter with some left on the spoon so you get a taste of it each time you take a bit! yum!!! For anyone that knows me knows I have grown up with a mighty love for peanut butter! So glad peanut butter is a whole food!!! Just for fun I will take a picture in the a.m. of my oatmeal creation and try to get savy enough on my blog with a post of the picture!
As for the stuff of life....Mike's still working, kids are still growing, I'm still homeschooling.....life is good!

Oh my! It's been a year!!!

Oh my! It has been a year since my last post.

Somehow life gets in the way of my creativity. However! Today is a new day! This is a new post! I have to admit my sis-in-law is responsible for this, my new attempt at a blog. Cali has faithfully been blogging for her family and I have so enjoyed seeing the pictures of little Mary Colman as she changes and grows. Cali, through her blog has spurred me on; so here goes.....

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds."
Hebrews 10:24

Today is the girls' piano recital. I have posted a little video of them playing their songs here at home because I knew the sound would not be great at the actual recital. The girls have been taking lessons from Katy Bardin. Katy is a homeschooled senior this year who the girls have loved taking lessons from. Their days of lessons with Katy are numbered because she will be graduating in the Spring. We will be looking for another piano teacher to inspire and teach the girls the art of piano.

It brings joy to my heart when the house is filled with the lovely sounds of their songs. Enjoy Sarah playing her piano recital:



Here is Rebekah's turn.......

Mike is down in his back today. Poor guy. Hope it feels better tomorrow!
Pretty normal day for me. Jonah and I ran to Target today while the girls were in gyymnastics. The poor little guy needed some clothes. The weather is cold today and all Jonah has is still his summer things. Not anymore! He even twisted my arm and got me to buy him a pair of Star Wars pajamas. It is amazing how much faster shopping goes with boys than with girls. We were in and out of Target with 100.00 worth of clothes in 15 min. The girls and I would have just looked at one rack of clothes in that amount of time! Too many choices for us girls, I guess.
I also cooked on the grill tonight.....all by myself!!! I made little mini burgers. They were pretty good. Grilling season is about to come to a halt though with the north wind getting colder! I need to get some good/healthy soup recipes for the season. Yum.
Writing "yum" reminds me of the fact that today my dear dog, Joy, ate almost my entire loaf of pumpkin bread that I had made last night! The stinker!!! When will I ever learn not to leave food of any type out on the counter. Crazy dog!!!
I've been blessed today. Tired, but blessed.

So, this is my third attempt at a blog. They say 3 times a charm, right?
My friend suggested that I blog the things my kids say and do while they are little so that I do not forget them. Well, my kids are not exactly little anymore but I figure it is not too late. They still do and say sweet things. I have to admit, there are many times I have said "I should write that down" and never have.
So here goes my attempt at jotting down the things of the day that deem or maynot deem worthy of writing about.
On my walk this evening I began thinking about my time that I do "read alouds" with the kids. I have been reading Mr. Popper's Penguins with my son, Jonah. I am so amused at how he laughs heartily outloud when I read a part in the story that is amusing. I think he gets this from his father. Mike has said to me more than on one occasion that I don't laugh out loud much at commercials or movies. I always reply that I am laughing on the inside. Anyway, I am glad Jonah is enjoying the book. I think reading books out loud to my children is one of my favorite parts of our homeschool. If I didn't homeschool I would still have to read to them...I love sharing that time with them.