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Christmas tree ~ family traditions

Written by Joy
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Christmas tree ~ family traditions

It seems like this time of year , we have so many wonderful family traditions that we do.   Besides baking and cooking goodies together, going riding around and looking at all the Christmas lights, we also love going to a Christmas tree farm to get our tree and then let the kids decorate it.

Sammy and Sarah decorating the tree.

This year was a little different though, since we moved to Colorado.  One would think that there would be plenty of Christmas tree farms in the area since we do live near the Rocky Mountains.  However, we had a really hard time finding one.  We didn’t want to travel too far to get one and finally decided to find a tree lot.

Claire and Sarah decorating the tree.

By the time we found a tree lot, it was already dark.  So I didn’t even get the camera out to take pictures of the kids running around looking at all the different trees.   The kids ended up choosing a beautiful white pine.  The kids name our Christmas tree every year and named this one Fluffy Bob.

Sammy, Claire and Sarah.

Dad always puts the lights on the tree and then we let the tree sit over night so the branches can relax.

watching the Denver Broncos game while decorating the tree..

The next day, the kids get the ornaments and start decorating.  I love watching the kids go through each of the ornaments and talk about who made them or where we got them from.  It always brings back a lot of great memories for the kids and for myself.

putting the finishing touches on the Christmas tree.

We also usually bake cookies when they are finished decorating the tree.  This year, Sarah did the honors of baking the cookies with the younger kids.  I love that the kids are older now and can do things like this together.   My children are all really close together and enjoy being with one another.  It truly makes my heart sing with joy seeing them make memories together.

What family traditions do you have?

2012, family, , , ,

so thankful and blessed… #1071-1080

Written by Joy
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so thankful and blessed… #1071-1080

Colossians 3:15-17

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

God has blessed my family and I another week.  A week were we celebrated Thanksgiving.  However, I have been trying to celebrate Thanksgiving daily for a while now.  Daily, God continues to give and bless us.  Daily, I wake up to another beautiful day.  Yes, God has been so good to us.  The love, mercy and grace that he hands out daily, is amazing.  I don’t deserve it.  I am a sinner.  A sinner saved by the grace of God, that does not deserve anything.  Again, He gives over and over.  Yes, I am truly blessed.

1071. a week of beautiful and dry weather.

1072. the few extra minutes of time spent with my husband, as I take him to and from work.

1073. insurance to go to the chiropractor.

1074. older children to help with the younger children when I have a doctor appointment.

1075. husband job that allows him holidays off.

1076. a Thanksgiving day spent with my husband and children.

1077. family time spent together watching our favorite football teams.

1078. my daughter taking riding lessons.

1079. baking sugar cookies with my children.

1080. making more memories and traditions with my husband and children.

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

2012, multitude monday, , ,

so thankful and blessed… #1061-1070

Written by Joy
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so thankful and blessed… #1061-1070

Psalm 100:3-5

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

This past week was a pretty good week for us.  We were able to accomplish a lot is our homeschool and get caught up with some cleaning.  We are so blessed to be able to homeschool our children.  My husband works very hard so that I am able to stay at home with our children.  I am so proud of him and very thankful that he loves us so much and does his best to take care of us.  We were blessed by this job that he is now at.  We feel like God has led us out to Colorado for a reason.  Whether it is for the better paying job with better benefits or if it could be something else, we are doing out best to listen to Him, as we make our way.   We are so thankful for all that God has given us.

1061.  a better paying job.

1062. a job with amazing benefits.

1063. a husband who works so hard to provide for us.

1064. a husband who is very handy at fixing and building things.

1065. the bunk beds my husband built for our girls.

1066. a husband who can work and fix our vehicles.

1067. an apartment that fits out needs.

1068. a lady who is giving our daughter riding lessons.

1069. our neighbors who homeschool and have become our new friends.

1070. quiet neighbors in our building.

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

2012, multitude monday, , , ,

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal and a History Link-Up in the works!

Written by Joy
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The Homeschool Mother’s Journal and a History Link-Up in the works!

 Don’t forget to drop by iHomeschool Network and look at what other homeschoolers have been doing!

  • In my life this week…

    I have had a pretty good week.  I was able to get up and dressed, get the kids breakfast and get started on school.  It has been a good with with not much pain. I am thankful and blessed by God for keeping my pain away.  I also am working on a new link-up for history!

  • In our homeschool this week…

    We got a lot accomplished in our homeschool this week!  I am so proud of my kids.  Other than our usual math, phonics and writing, we carved soap into big fish (Jonah lesson in MOH), made Oylmpic wreaths (Olympic lesson in MOH) and read about Mercury in Astronomy.

  • Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

     If you are able to, try to have a few minutes of quiet time at the beginning of the day and ask God to bless your day and your homeschool.  By putting God first, my days definitely go a lot smoother.

  • I am inspired by…

    I am inspired by Jenilee and her family.  Jenilee blogs at Our Goodwin Journey.  Jenilee and her husband Jeremy just announced that they are missionaries for Senegal, West Africa.  Will you join me in prayer for this blessed family and perhaps pray for how you can help and bless them in their new journey?

  • My favorite thing this week was…

    Claire, Sarah and Samuel making their Olympic wreaths.

    Claire, Sarah and Samuel with their big fish carvings.

  • Things I’m working on…

 I am working on the History link-up.  I share a little more about it at the bottom.  I am also helping out with Teaching Creation   Thursday at Creation Conversation!

  • I’m cooking…

    I have been in a baking and cooking mood lately.  The holidays and cooler weather always seems to get me in the baking mood.  This past week, we baked chocolate chip cookies.  They didn’t last long enough for me to get a picture of!  I also made a Pumpkin Spice Banana Nut Bread at the beginning of the week!

  • I’m grateful for…

     I am so thankful and blessed by the many friendships that I have made since I have started blogging.  I am encouraged by all of those who blog about their faith and those who encourage others through their faith and their homeschool journey.  It is my goal to do the same.

  • I’m praying for…

    I am praying for our family and that we find a church home soon.  I miss the fellowship with other believers.

  • A photo to share…

I am so excited about this new link-up I am having.  It will be a History link-up for those who are using Bright Ideas Press      history and geography curriculum.  I will begin having it once a week.  We will begin this next Wednesday and I have a giveaway from Bright Ideas Press!  It is a $20 store credit!!

 


 *This link-up is not officially affiliated with Bright Ideas Press but is my own project. I am a customer and fan.

* Affiliate links are included in this post.

2012, homeschooling, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Denver Zoo has a free day! ~ field trip

Written by Joy
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Denver Zoo has a free day! ~ field trip

We recently found out that the Denver Zoo has free days for the public. One of those days was last week. I asked our neighbor who homeschools her 7 year old son if they wanted to go with us. They said yes, so off we went! We packed a lunch, snacks and bottled water for the day. We got to the zoo fairly early and there were already a lot of families who were taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

King of the Jungle

As you walk in through the front gate, the first animals that you come to is the African Lions.  They were absolutely gorgeous!  And huge!

Cape Buffalo

Being a zoo with a lot of animals, the one thing you do notice right off is the smell.  I kept giggling at Samuel who kept asking why the animals smelled so badly.  He walked around the zoo with his shirt over his nose, most of the day.  The smell was really horrible at the Cape Buffalo area.

Dall’s Sheep

I have seen mountain sheep before on Mt.Evans.  Was even able to get some really close pictures of them.  So I liked watching these that were at the zoo.  The one with the horns was the dominating one.  He would go up to the younger ones and push them below him.  He was definitely playing king of the mountain and succeeded!

Claire with the Capuchin

Claire had told me before we arrived at the zoo that she wanted to see the monkeys.  Her Papa calls her, his little monkey and so she wanted to have her picture taken with them, so we could send it to him.

Samuel seeing how tall he is next to am Emperor Penguin

Samuel thought this was pretty cool, being able to compare how tall he is to an Emperor Penguin.

Grizzly Bears

While we have seen black bears in North Carolina, this was our first time seeing grizzly bears.  I loved watching the grizzly bears.  Tundra (female bear), kept pacing back and forth while watching Tipani (sp?- male bear) eat his bone.  Tundra was waiting for him to walk away from his bone so she could take it, even though she had her own!

Kids checking out an Elephant skull

The Denver Zoo has just recently added a new section to the Zoo.  It is a much larger Elephant exhibit.  From what we were told, they have added several more elephants to the zoo.  It is amazing how large and graceful these animals are.

Elephant

Another highlight for the kids were seeing the giraffes.  We also got a lesson in giraffe anatomy.  When we walked up the largest giraffe was going to the bathroom.  They must have a bladder the size of a basketball or larger.  The make giraffe stood there urinating for several minutes.  Adults and kids all got a giggle out of seeing this!

Giraffe

The last exhibit we went through, was the Tropical Climate building.  This building had so many different types of frogs, lizards, fish and snakes in it.  It was very humid and damp.  This was also a big hit with the kids.  It is so amazing to see all the different types of animals that God has created.

Kids looking at a Komodo Dragon

We spent about 3 hours at the zoo that day.  I would have stayed longer, but the kids were all tired.  So we left after leaving the Tropical building.  The zoo was so big that we didn’t even get to see everything.  We are excited about going back again on the next free day.  This time, dad is going to take off a half a day so he can go with us.  The kids can’t wait to show him all the animals we saw.  I can’t wait to see the animals that we missed on our first trip.  We enjoyed the zoo so much, that we are planning on buying a yearly membership.

Do you have a zoo that is close by?  What are your favorite animals?

 

2012, field trips, homeschooling, , , , , , , , , , , , ,