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Birds of Prey program at our library

Written by Joy
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Birds of Prey program at our library



As we continue on with our activities from our Summer Bucket List, I have to mention about our awesome library that we have. When we move, our library will be one thing that we will miss a lot. Our library, just celebrated its first anniversary at its new building. Along with the new building has come more books and also more programs being offered for the kids by the library. We missed the programs on the Wolves and Snakes, and it was by chance that we happened to stop by and noticed the Birds of Prey program about to begin. The kids were so excited when they found out that they didn’t miss this show! Even better that their grandparents could be there with them!

The local Nature Center had my kids’ attention from the start.   They had several different owls, a Red Tail Hawk, a Harris Hawk and a Bald Eagle named Freedom.  I love how they explained to the kids why these animals were called birds of prey and how they ended up in captivity and why they can never be out back out into the wild.

The bald eagle’s name is Freedom.  He talked about how the bald eagles used to be considered endangered species many years ago.  There are now over 10,000 pairs of bald eagles in the U.S.  Freedom is a bald eagle that is visiting the Nature Center from Dollywood.

My oldest daughter has been to this Nature Center several times and has fallen in love with the birds that they take care of.  I am very thankful that we were able to be at the program, so that I could get a picture of her holding the Harris Hawk.

We are blessed to have a library that is able to have programs that are so fun and educational.  Does your library have  any programs during the summertime?

Be sure to stop by the others who are participating in the Summer Bucket List series to see what fun they have been up to!

Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse

Tonya @ The Traveling Praters

Jeniffer & Melissa @ Sisters ‘N Cloth

Lisa @ Creativlei

Nancy @ Proverbs 31 Jewels

Jennifer @ Teaching Boys

Kelli @ Adventurez In Child’rearing

2012, family, homeschooling, , , , ,

swimming with friends at the local pool..

Written by Joy
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swimming with friends at the local pool..


 

In keeping with our theme of spending as much time as we can with our friends before we head west, the kids chose swimming with friends at the local pool.  Not only did we get to do this once, but we have gotten to do it twice!  We are working on meeting up with some friends again for a third time before we pull out the last week of July.

The first pool time came with our church friends.  It just so happened that they had scheduled a cookout and pool party to celebrate the end of the school year for all the kids, plus a celebration of those who have graduated from their school.  We even got to play a game of softball with  kids and adults.  Everyone had a wonderful time!

Our next pool party was a going away party for the kids, put on by our homeschool support group.  They have been a part of our family for the last 7 years and it was a pool party we just couldn’t miss.  The kids and I truly had a wonderful time and will definitely remember that evening for a very long time.  One of the moms even thought to buy the kids each a notebook and had all the kids there sign each book for each of the kids.  Some of the comments had me in tears.  Yes, we will truly miss our 2nd family, the homeschool group.

We do plan on getting together again with some of the homeschoolers for another pool party.  I do hope I remember to bring my camera this time!

Do you have a local pool you can meet up with friends at?  I am thankful that there will be a local pool near us when we move west to make more memories!

Be sure to stop by the others who are participating in the Summer Bucket List series to see what fun they have been up to!

Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse

Tonya @ The Traveling Praters

Jeniffer & Melissa @ Sisters ‘N Cloth

Lisa @ Creativlei

Nancy @ Proverbs 31 Jewels

Jennifer @ Teaching Boys

Kelli @ Adventurez In Child’rearing

2012, family, , ,

Summer Bucket List fun!

Written by Joy
6 Comments
Summer Bucket List fun!


At the beginning of summer, I started noticing how a lot of families were making Summer Bucket lists.  It looked like a lot of fun, so I thought my kids and I would sit down and write one as well.  Then Honey, from Sunflower Schoolhouse asked if I would like to be a part of a Summer Bucket list series.  So a group of bloggers will be posting about what all is on our list, hopefully to  give you a little inspiration and extra ideas!  I hope you will join in with our fun!

After Honey had asked if I would join in this series, we got some news that we would be moving cross country away from family and friends.  So I thought I would add a little twist to some of the activities we would do.  Why not see how many activities we could do with our friends before we moved?  Needless to say, the kids have been having a blast and making memories with friends they won’t see for a while.

Our first activity that we had was a sleepover with a friend.  They had been asking for a long time if their friend, Jacob could come spend the night.  My kids had the whole visit planned!  The biggest highlight of the sleepover, was getting to play some video games.  They played several different games on the XBox and the Wii. My favorite was watching them play the Just Dance games.  It is so funny watching them dance to the songs.  What they don’t know is they are getting exercise when dancing AND was wearing themselves out for bedtime! 😉

The kids did go outside to play when it cooled off a little.  They had fun jumping on the trampoline and playing hide and seek.  During the hottest time of the day, they cooled off with popsicles and even watched a couple of movies with bowls of popcorn and kool-aid to wash it down with.

Jacob has been my son’s best friend for several years and I am so glad that we finally had a chance to have him over for a sleepover.  I know my son is going to miss him a lot, but we will always have the memory of this fun and fantastic sleepover for years to come.

Have you ever made a Bucket list before?  Do your children have sleepovers?

Be sure to stop by these other bloggers to see what fun they are having this summer!

Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse

Tonya @ The Traveling Praters

Jeniffer & Melissa @ Sisters ‘N Cloth

Tara @ Feels Like Home Blog

Lisa @ Creativlei

Nancy @ Proverbs 31 Jewels

Jennifer @ Teaching Boys

Kelli @ Adventurez In Child’rearing

2012, family, ,

so thankful and blessed #914-925.. plus some big news

Written by Joy
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so thankful and blessed #914-925.. plus some big news

God is so amazing at how He provides for His children.  We never go without or lack anything that is a necessity.  He knows our needs even before we do!  Yes, He knows what is going to happen to His children.  I am thankful for all that He has given and blessed us with.   I am going to keep trusting Him too. he hasn’t failed us yet.  So, I am looking forward to see what he has for us in our next adventure as a family.

Jeremiah 29:11

11  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

After praying and praying and asking close friends to pray for and with us, my husband has taken a new job at a University.  The University is in Golden, Colorado.  Yes, we will be moving.  Moving 1500 miles away from our home and oldest son.  Moving even further away from our extended family in Florida.  After much praying and trusting in God, we will be moving at the end of July.  Only 5 short weeks away.  Yes, God knows the plans he has for us.  He just wants us to trust him and take that leap of faith.  Our family is going to do just that.  So, as we begin to pack and spend some last minute time with friends around us, I ask that you keep our family in your prayers.  This is even a bigger move for us than moving from Florida to NC, yet, we are excited about the plans that God has laid before us.

Now on to the many blessings that He has given us.

914. a job that my husband has enjoyed the last 7 1/2 years.

915. friends and family that have been praying with and for us.

916. a new job that will offer more income and better insurance.

917. our small garden growing and producing veggies and fruits.

918. air conditioning

919. coca cola to sooth my stomach when I have a migraine

920. friends to confide in.

921. scripture to help us make better decisions.

922. a praying husband.

923. praying children.

924. my daughter being able to go camping with a friend.

925.  Jeremiah 29:11.

I would love for you to join me and the others linking up at A Holy Experience. We would love to see how God has blessed you and your family.

2012, family, multitude Mondays, ,

5 years ago today…

Written by Joy
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5 years ago today…

Five years ago today, June 22nd, my family lost a very special person.  My dad.  He was a wonderful man of God.  He did his best to raise his family in a loving Christian home.  He wasn’t a perfect man, but he did do his best to live for God daily.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him.  Especially around the holidays and birthdays.  He was always the first one to call me early in the morning.  He was always there for all 4 of us kids.  If we ever needed anything, all we had to do was call him.  There are still some things that I will ask myself, “what would daddy do in this situation.”

Cancer is an evil disease.  It took my dad way too soon in my opinion.  However, I know God took him home when we wanted him.  My dad had done his job on this earth and it was time to go on to his heavenly home.  I am thankful for all the memories that I have of my dad.  However, the best part is knowing that he is in Heaven with God and I will be there with him one day singing and rejoicing and praising God right along with him.

2012, family, , ,