A Parent's Prayer

a lot of "Stuff" has happened this week. And last night as I got a drink of water from the kitchen I looked up at the prayer that hangs upon my wall above the sink. Today, I would like to share that prayer with you.

Lord,
as I live this day,
renew in me the ability to laugh
at my childrens antics;
the time to share
their moments of pride;
the need to praise
their seperate strengths;
the faith to trust
their growing judgement;
the patience to understand
their changing moods;
the virtue to forgive
their disrespect;
the openness to learn
their ways and styles;
the ears to hear
what they are saying;
the insight to embrace
their doubtsw and fears;
the tenderness to understand
their broken dreams;
and the wisdom to accept
that their lives are built
just one day at a time.
Amen

May I be reminded of that each and every day, that I have only been entrusted with their care. Never let me hurt them or take them for granted- they are for God's glory not mine. Help me to be a godly mom and show them Christ's love no matter what else happens in our lives.

August days are flying

SO, hello out there... as usual we are - have been - busy busy busy. My photos won't upload here but I have been posting them on Facebook.

We have been studying the attributes of God the past few weeks, learning words like eternal, Holy, Sovereign, Omnipresent, Omnipotant, Omniscient, Immutable, Just and Loving and what exactly that means in relation to God's Attributes. We have been busy memorizing scripture, learning about clay, making some fun (and some interesting) forms of clay- some have been edible while others...well not so much.

We have learned about china and pottery and written two papers so far (not bad for only 2 weeks into the school year), this week we are studying StAUgustine, his life and his work and whether or not his life was an honor to God...

We have been to the beach (a few times), visited with friends, celebrated a 15 yr anniversary, prayerfully are considering finding a different church home, talked to parents back on the east coast, spent a day in Balboa Park visiting the Natural History Museum, and spent some extra time on fetal monitors in the hospital because the mama isnt handling stress as well as she would like this time around...

Homeschooling is going...

life is happening...

dinner menus are planned and eaten...

a trip to the desert is in the works....

life is busy. but good.

candy dough sculptures

Candy Clay

Here's what you will need to make it:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) margarine, softened and cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
different flavors/ colors of Kool Aid
large bowl
mixing spoon
small bowls
spoons

Here's what you have to do:

1. Check with a grown-up before you begin.

2. Wash your hands.

3. Put 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 stick of margarine, softened and cut into pieces, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into a large bowl.

4. Mix these ingredients together until the dough doesn't feel sticky. You may need to add more powdered sugar to make it less sticky - from 1/4 to 1/3 cup - but add it slowly and stop when the dough feels dry. ( I did have to tweak it a bit by adding more powdered sugar til it was more clay-like)

5. Divide the dough into little balls and put each ball into a separate bowl.

6. Add a few sprinkes of Kool Aid to each bowl. Make the dough in each bowl a different color.

7. Mix the food coloring into the dough with a spoon (or fork) so you don't stain your hands. Once the food coloring starts to blend in, use your hands to really smush it in.

8. Now sculpt your craziest creations out of the candy clay. You can use them to decorate cakes or cookies, but be sure to eat them pretty soon after you make them. Candy clay sculptures turn into candy rock sculptures after a while!




Now You too can make your very own candy creations. We mixed up 4 batches so there was plenty for everyone! And the best part is they are completely edible!

School: Day 2

so far, two whole days into this years school year....

I have failed to get up on time.

and I am wondering how we are going to survive this school year with my inability to sleep at night, coupled by the fact that noone but Hezekiah is a morning person... and I have been the one that has trained my children to sleep til 8am...

I think later this afternoon it is OFF to WalMart to buy a few alarm clocks and get into gear!!!

holding patterns

Do you ever feel like life simply is...?

I am frustrated a lot lately. Frustrated by my children's antics, lack of obedience, lack of discipline, and their friendships here since our move.

Frustrated by my home, the apartment complex, the lack of upkeep the staff does to the property, the often ghetto like mentality of the people that live here...

Frustrated at our church situation. While I truely love the Pastor and his teaching- I do not feel like we "fit in" anywhere. It feels lonely- even though we atend several services a week, there just doesnt seem to be a real "connection".

Don't get me wrong..I am thankful for all the blessings in my life, I am just having kind of a hard time seeing what they are right at the moment. We start school on Monday and I dont feel like the kids even care that we homeschool, the sacrifice, time and energy it takes, the faithfulness to a calling.

Maybe its the pregnancy, maybe I am just tired.

I know we have to continue our homeschool journey.... and a journey it has been. I guess I am just tired...trying to be a wife, a mom, a teacher and now my new role of power of attourney (handing many of my dad's affairs from long distances), a good daughter.... a constant babysitter to the kids in the apartment complex.... missing good friends from every corner of the globe it seems....

my dad is doing ok, been gaining weight and respoding well to radiation...

baby inside me is doing ok, although I do believe he thinks there is a trampoline inside there....

and wondering if I should even post this....

Happy Birthday Kiahboy!

AS requested by my newest rider of the Atlantis at SeaWorld - the AMazing 5 year old "Kiahboy"- we are off to SeaWorld for the day (among other 5 yr old requested activities.... I can't believe this guy is 5 today!

winding down

so, you may wonder what our crew does on a Friday night to wind down....

go to SeaWOrld of course!





but my photos won't upload this morning.... so you"re gonna have to wait for more of them