Children of the light

Geography

2011-10-27T00:26:00.005-05:00

I just received this link from one of the Home school groups I belong to. Here is the link, Post Crossing. It was really easy for me to sign us up. Here is how it works, go to the link and sign up, then you can start sending post cards to any where in the world. You can send up to five at a time. And while you are sending out your post cards, other people are looking at your profile and sending you post cards. It looks so fun and it would be great with geography. So happy sending and have fun. Tanya

Cooking and Crafting

2011-10-11T13:43:00.006-05:00

This year, I have been pulling Melanie into the kitchen. I really want her to learn how to cook and read recipes. She learned how to read the recipe for some homemade pancakes. She did really well and they tasted so good.

Here is what they looked like, so good.

Another area I have been trying to put into her week is arts and crafts. Melanie is so creative and the best way to get her creative juices flowing is by giving her the time to create. I have also been using the Keeper at Home book to give me ideas to help her create. She is learning about stamping. We bought a bunch of stamps a couple of years ago, but we did not have the time to mess with them. Here is Melanie creating some master piece. She is really good.

I made this one, the stamp needed me to press harder in the middle of it, I did not get all the giving stamped down.

This one is Melanie's creation. She love working with the stamps and creating a neat picture. This would be great as cards. She started cross stitching, so hopefully I will be able to show you some of her project. I hope ya enjoyed the pictures and remember, crafts are fun. Tanya

Science Projects

2011-10-09T03:21:00.007-05:00

This year Mel and I are doing the "Beyond Five in a Row" Curriculum. I have really enjoyed it and Mel has been doing some really interesting Science projects. She is currently reading "The Boxcar Children". Beyond Five in a Row has the children read books and then there are subject that are wrapped around that book. It is set up like a unit study, but she has done most of the work for you. So, her first science project was Evaporation, Precipitation and Condensation. Here is a diagram for you to look at. If you would like more information, check out the National Weather website.

So to get the effect of evaporation, we used a kettle and we let it get really hot to get it to whistle and let out the steam.

Once it started to whistle and steam started rising from it, we placed a clear glass over the steam without getting burned and watched the steam fill the glass. This formed condensation on the inside of the glass. The steam went into the glass and droplets of water fell out of the glass.

It was basic, but very interesting.

Here are some websites that can help with easy science labs, They are fun and practical. Here is the first one, it is called Science is fun home experiments, This website not only has science, but lots of other subjects as well and there are some other links that you can go to, this website is called Easy Science Experiments. This site had quite a bit of experiments, enjoy, it is call Science Bob. I just go to Bing or google and I just type in what I need and you would be surprised all of the sites you can use. Have fun. Tanya

Special Needs

2011-09-10T00:23:00.003-05:00

Well, here we are on another year of school. This summer we realized that our daughter Melanie might be Dyslexic. Our son Luke was diagnosed with it when he was younger. Now our daughter is showing signs of it. So, I did some research and talked to many different people. Here are some suggestions if you are seeing some educational issues with your child. First, call Home School Legal defence and talk to their special needs coordinator. They really helped me with some areas of concern. Also, if you know of a supervising teacher with special needs abilities, call them and pick their brains. It is always good to have people who have seen these signs before. Do research and find someone out there who can test your child, it will be pricey, but it will help you to know exactly what the problem is. Most of all, do not be discouraged or upset. Make decisions and then stick with them. And most of all, keep a schedule, this is very important. Here are some site that you can check out, The Gift of Dyslexia, this is a good book and it made me look at Dyslexia in a positive way and not in a negative. He has curriculum that you can buy and the book it so good. You can also go on You tube and see some of his videos. Diane Craft, she has a site for left/right brain learners. She also touches on Dyslexia. Mel and I are in the process of doing her left brain right brain test each morning. I think that it is really helping Melanie. This is the Dyslexic Association website, lots of suggestions here. Also, just google or Bing Dyslexia, you will be so surprised at all the sites that are out there. Again, do not get overwhelmed, just take your time and do the research. I hope this all helps and happy hunting.

Our Son's New Adventure

2011-07-21T15:23:00.013-05:00

Hello everyone! I know, it has been a while since I have been on here. I have to tell ya, I really should keep this blog up and going. So much information on the world wide web for Home school families. I will be posting some blog post for families with Special Needs kids. I have lots to tell you in the next couple of blogs. But I would like to share the biggest news of all, our son Luke
and our niece Tasha graduated in May. It was a busy time, but it was also a very deep time of reflection for me. As a home school mom, I often worry about my kids education. Did I do enough, will they have enough knowledge to make it out there. So, this was a big step for me and a hard one. I was very blessed to have three other mothers going through graduations with there sons. So this really helped me.

I do not want to tell you this to worry you. Home schooling is a privilege and should not be taken lightly, but should be honored and serious. We have the opportunity to train our kids in a way that is not offered in Public school. We get to teach them about creation, God and family traditions. So this year, I will be homeschooling one child, our daughter Melanie. I am really honored to be able to teach her one on one. This will be a great year to teach.

This picture above is Jeff, me, Luke, Tasha, Charlene my sister, Jim who is holding JJ. This was on the day of the graduation. We had lots of friends show up and support us. Lots of food and a DVD showing of Luke and Tasha. It was a really great day. We had a blast. Here is the site that I ordered Luke's diploma and class ring, go here
Well, it was great to be back and I will be posting some more blogs in the coming days. Talk to ya later, Tanya

2010-10-14T15:41:00.003-05:00

Good afternoon, I thought I would post some blog sites that I have stubbled on. I have been tweeting on Twitter and found some fellow home school moms. I would like to share their sites with you. Here is an awesome English site, on this site, there is eight rules to english, diagraming sentences and why you should teach poetry. Another site that I stubbled on is for mom's teaching children with special needs it is called, home school calling. ADD, Autisim, and other needs should look at this site. I even think I could pull off of this site for my hands on kids. This next site is called Trivium pursuit, it is for families who are teaching classic home schooling through Christ. Great site with lots of helps and information. One last site and this one is more geared for mom's, This is called Home school Lounge. You have to sign up if you want more of the site and they will have to appove you. But it is a good site with lots of encouragment and information for you.

2010-10-09T02:39:00.004-05:00

Wow, I have not been on this blog for some time. We have been so busy with school that I have had to put some of my hobbies on hold. We started school in July and we have been working straight through. I have stubbled onto some sights that I want to share and I know that they will come in handy.

On October 20th, there will be a green comet that you will be able to see with the naked eye. And a Home school group sent me this site. It is called Space weather, here is the site www.spaceweather.com. Another cool site is www.space.com. Jeff and I have Zune's and I wanted to listen to books on MP3. So here are some sites that you can down load books for free. Here is the link to go to the site. If you are on Twitter, there is a site you can go for grammar. There are test, information about 8 steps to language etc. It is a great resource.

For mom's with early reader, do not forget Starfall. This is a great website for kids, plenty of games and you can order books from their site. As always so many sites to choose from and I just enjoy the Internet and its benefits. I have not spent a lot of time on the Internet looking for different sites. I hope to sit down in a couple of weeks and do some more research. If you have a site that you would like me to look at, please leave me a message or comment.

One more piece of information, Kent Hovind's son has taken over the ministry and there are some awesome items on their website on creation. If you need curriculum or DVD's on creation here is the site www.drdino.com . God bless all of you and have a great week. Tanya

2010-03-11T23:53:00.004-06:00

Well it has been a very interesting year so far. I can not believe that it is March already and soon summer will be here. I started some fractions with Melanie and I found a couple of math sites that have some free worksheets. I would like to post them, I have also found some other sites that again are great resources. So here they are.

Here is a math site with loads of worksheets, it is called Math Drill, and this one is called free worksheet.net. Here is a site with free ring tones that you can down load to your computer, plus they have some free e-books, the site is call mobile 24. I did find some Nancy Drew book and some other books of interest. I could down load them straight to my computer. This site is called Clicking School, all the activities are on the computer, and there are some drills for the kids to do. This site has many worksheets for grammar, math, and so on, it is called home school love to know.com. It is a great site to look at. Again if there are sites that you would like me to post on this blog please let me know. My e-mail is tanya_rss@yahoo.com. I would love to hear your suggestions. God bless you and have fun, from Tanya

Christmas and Home schooling......

2010-01-07T21:54:00.007-06:00

Well for the month of December, we tried to do some home school. I actually wanted to take the month off and work on a Christmas curriculum. We did really good and then Iowa got hit by a winter storm and the public school had days off and friends came by and I could not get the kids to concentrate. Oh well, I believe that we really got things done and the kids and I really enjoyed the things that we learned.

This is Luke and Melanie working on the Greek alphabet for Alpha and Omega. We also learned about the Christmas tree and St. Nicholas. I really stressed to the kids that if you look at every symbol of Christmas you will find Jesus. Example: the Christmas tree is in the shape of a triangle, look at three points of the tree, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. St. Nicholas represents the giving that we should do to each other. The greenery of Christmas is Eternal life we receive when we except Jesus and the white lights is for purity of Jesus.

We had fun and it really helped me to see Christmas in a different light. We have started back to school and then the kids got sick and more snow storms. I will be glad when spring comes our way. We have had a wonderful year. I have really enjoyed this year more than I have the past. We are one day away from a hundred days of school. I hope that all of you had a wonderful December and are getting back on track. Here is Melanie who just love Mario and Sonic. Luke is into Jeff Hardy and money. After a certain age they really do not ask for much, except money.

And here is the biggest kid I have. He is more a kids than our children. I love him so much, he is such a kidder. I hope to get some time to look at more websites to add to this one, but please keep using these awesome resources. It is awesome to be able to home school. There are so many resources on the web that you can use. I would not be able to Home school with out it. God bless all of you and I hope you have a wonderful week. From Tanya

Our School Year

2009-12-05T23:39:00.004-06:00

Well, another school year close to seeing another year change. It is hard to believe that we are looking at 2010. Luke will graduate in another year and Melanie will be one more year closure to High School. We have had a busy year, me in the hospital and our trip to Georgia. I will post some pictures soon. We had a blast. Any ways, I have not posted for some time on this blog. I hope that you have found what you needed when you have been here. I hope that your year has gone smoothly. Like I said, I have somethings to post and some pictures, so I will be on soon. God bless all of you and thank you for visiting my blog. Tanya

2009-10-09T08:59:00.003-05:00

I have not posted in a while because I have been in the hospital. My appendix decided that it wanted to evict. So, during this time, I taught the kids about the appendix. And for some reason, I have been able to do school with the kids. But seriously, I have actually felt good, in fact even better than I did before the surgery. So, it was time for it to come out. I hope all is well in Home school land. If you need any help, please email me or leave a comment. And of course, if you have any sites you would like to share let me know. God bless you.

Eagle Owl

2009-09-04T01:17:00.005-05:00

Last night, about midnight, I was turning off some lights and getting ready for bed. I kept hearing this hooting sound and I thought it was the kids. I opened the front door and stood there for a while and sure enough, I heard an owl. I called the kids down and we stood on the front porch for a while and listened to the owl. It was cloudy outside, so the sky was light. All of a sudden there was a scuffle in the trees and two owls came gliding out over our roof. Then they turned around and one owl landed in our tree and the other across the street in another tree. They both started in with the hooting and then the other from across the street flew back into our tree. They started scuffling again and both of them flew away. They headed for trees up the hill from our house. I got a good look at one and it was huge and the wing span was wide. I came in and looked at our animal books and found the eagle owl. It is the largest owl I could find. So at twelve thirty in the morning Luke, Melanie and I were having a lesson on owls. It was so awesome. I love learning.

Our School

2009-09-02T23:45:00.008-05:00

Well another school year is now upon us. I am so surprised at the beautiful summer that we were blessed with and how fast it went. It really seems like we did not have a summer of rest, we were always busy with some activity. Fairs, to plays, to fireworks, church activities and friends over. Now, we have to get down to the grind and get school going. Luke is a junior this year and Melanie is now a sixth grader. Wow, they have grown fast. We are going to do American History and look at geography more closely. I also hope to get Luke moving on to more challenging math and work on Life skills. Melanie is showing more interest in everything from buds on flowers to how things work. She has always been a curious kind of girl. We will also start up with Nursing home visits and possible scrapebooking with the residents at the Nursing home. Melanie and I love to scrapebook. It is one activity that we do together. I hope that all of you were able to get to the site okay and make sure you check out the daily freebie site. They offer many curriculums for free. I hope to add more sites on this blog and possibly more homeschool blogs. Enjoy your visit and I hope you have an awesome school year.

This is Luke and Melanie.

Welcome New School Year

2009-08-07T08:53:00.004-05:00

We have been very busy around here. I have been doing some odds and ends that I can not do during the school year. We are now heading around the bend and will be starting school within a week. So I am getting all of my last minute items in order. I would like to remind all of you home school families that CPI forms can be obtained at http://www.hslda.com/ or the Niche website. They are due really soon. I also stumbled upon two websites that may really help with your math or just crafts or projects this year. This math website is amazing and I think that I am going to be using it many time during our school year, http://www.homeschoolmath.net/. You really need to check this little ditty out. Then the other day I stumbled on a blog that I found really good. I have been wanting to do more sewing with the kids and this blog has plenty. Here is the address to the blog, http://sherylmaxey.com/. I will be honest, I have not done to much searching of this blog. From what I seen I really liked. I hope that all of your planning and teaching is so blessed this year and I will post more later. God bless.

We The People

2009-06-30T01:02:00.009-05:00

This is a group of girls that my daughter and I are involved with. The girls put on a play about the colonies and the set up of the new government. They went to the local nursing home, Good Samaritan. The residents just love the girls and the girls really love the residents.

This is Melanie, is she not beautiful. I love that stain glass window behind her. It is so awesome.

Here is another mom working on the costumes for the girls. We had little colonial women, Indians and gentlemen. Very creative with their costumes. They looks so good.

We were so blessed this time with some grandma's and grandpa's helping with the play. They did an awesome job and it was awesome to see family input to the play.

And here are the two mascots for the play. They had a wonderful time waving their flags and rolling in the wagon. They are so cute.

Here are the girls singing songs. They sang some awesome songs, "Yankee Doodle", God bless America, America the Beautiful, and She is a Grand Old Flag. The residents had a wonderful time with the kids and vice a versa. It is so awesome to see how they have all grown in the couple of years that we have done this. They are all wonderful little ladies. What are you doing this summer, please let me know. God bless all of you and Have a wonderful "Fourth Of July."

Why I became a Home school Mom

2009-06-05T12:18:00.005-05:00

Jeff came to me about seven years ago and asked me if I would consider home schooling the kids. I was not really sure that I would be able to do that. But with some time of prayer and some time picking the brains of other home school mothers, Jeff and I pulled Luke out of public school and never looked back. Oh, I would not be honest if sometimes I might wonder if I am doing a benefit to the kids by keeping them home and not in public school. But then I see how close Luke and Melanie are, and that we as a family are so close. I think that we would not be as close if we had let the kids stay in Public school. I am also blessed because I was able to teach Melanie to read and watch Luke actually do Multiplication. We were told that Luke may not get that far in Public School. And now he is doing multiplication and division. I have been so bless to watch the growth of both kids.
Now, Melanie and Luke do Nursing Home visits. They are taught about God and what we want them to know about the history of our great America. I really love teaching them, I seem to walk away knowing more than I did. Recently, we started looking at the history of our country. We bought the book, "5000 Year leap" and we are reading it as a family. It is so interesting, I am learning clearly more about our forefathers than I did in high school. We are learning about Jamestown and the free enterprise. Why Jamestown was such a success in growth, then in other countries or tribes that fell so quickly after rapid growth. It is a great book and one that should be in your library. We are also learning about the faith of these forefathers. It is awesome to be able to share this with the kids.

We are also so blessed to be able to teach the kids other things that maybe the public school could not. More music, more cooking, more life skills. I just learned the other day that the public school does not teach the kids how to address envelopes or write thank you notes or business letters. I have been able to share this with the kids, even in the age of the computer, the kids still need to know this. I am so glad that I listened to the Lord and Jeff and I brought the kids home. I love the kids and I am blessed.

Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo

2009-06-01T11:56:00.021-05:00

Yesterday, Jeff and I took the kids to the zoo. Jeff's job gave all of us the opportunity to go. It was a blast. The day was wonderful also, there was a light breeze and it was not that hot.

During the year, Melanie and I love to watch the "Meerkat Manner"on Animal Planet. We fell in love with these little guys. It was so cool to get to see them up close. The one on the rock actually came down for me to take its picture. It was so cute.
These pictures are from the dessert dome. It was three deserts from the world, Africa, Australia and American deserts. It was so cool to see all the wild life that live there.

Jeff, Luke and Melanie in front of a cactus.

This year during school, I taught the kids the different structures of the caves. We were so excited to see that the desert dome also showed the structures of caves and all the bats that go with it. Here are Luke and Melanie in a cave.

The Polar Bear was really cool in the water, he looked pretty big.

Oh, the butterfly house was so awesome. The butterflies and hummingbirds were all over the house. The attendants had to check you when you left the house to make sure there were no stow aways. The even had a bee hive that we could watch.

Lunch anyone?

Speaking of Lunch, Jeff's job gave us free lunch and entertainment. This is Foster, she lives in Australia. She talked for us and screamed. She was a beautiful bird.

Jelly fish, this was from the Aquarium. There is so much to see in the zoo. We did not see all of it and we were talking about going another time in the year to see more.

After Lunch we rode the train around the park. We had such a wonderful time. We even seen animals that we would not see from the walking. The only complaint about the train is that it can be noisy.

Here is Melanie and her new friend. She loved the turtles. I think I see a pet turtle in our future?

This is the new Madagascar exhibit. It will be open in the Spring of 2010. Jeff and I were really talking about making another trip next year to see it. It looks like it will be cool.

Here is the Train station and across from it is the carousel and the feeding zoo. We did not get to it, because we went to an Imax Movie. By time the movie was over, we were all tired and ready to go home. We had a wonderful day at the zoo. If you are close to Omaha or making a stop in Omaha, the zoo is well worth your time and money. Get there early though, there is a lot to see.

End Of the Year?

2009-05-22T09:40:00.005-05:00

I can not believe that the end of the school year is already upon us. Next year I am going to have a sixth grader and a Junior in High School.

But we do not shut down for the summer. We still do basics during the year. I do not want to reteach certain subjects the beginning of next year. I also spend the summer planning their next school year. We had a lot of fun this year, but I hope to get more done next year. I say that all the time. It is important to get them into new things.

How do you do your summers? I hope that all of you have an awesome summer. I will post from time to time. We have a zoo trip coming up. I hope to have a lot of pictures. Till then, bye.

Bright Lights

2009-04-17T09:12:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy lately. I have been able to maintain my personal blog, but have really failed to maintain this one. I will try to do better, there is so much information out there, that I sometimes feel overwhelmed.

I do want to tell you about an awesome experience I just recently had with my little girl and I highly recommend that you look into it for your little girl or teenager. It is called Bright Lights. It is a bible group that helps the young or teenage girl seek a relationship with the Lord. Melanie and I were blessed to be able to go to a two day seminar with about four hundred other mother/daughter teams and hear Sarah Mally tell about how the Lord is her savior and the relationship that she has with Him. It was such an encouraging time and I received some much needed teaching on how to help Melanie achieve this goal. I walked away tired, but extremely blessed and filled. I know Melanie has not been able to stop talking about it. It has really sparked something in her. If you would like more information about this even, go here.

I find that as a parent it is my responsibility to show my children about Jesus Christ. They need to know that they can have their own walk with God and it is not going to be my walk.

Again, thank you for stopping by my blog. I hope that you find things that you were looking for. And if you have a website that you would like to share, please contact me or email me at tanya_rss@yahoo.com. Thank you and have a blessed day, from Tanya

Attention Iowa Homeschool Families.

2009-03-09T07:40:00.010-05:00

Parent Taught Driver's Education

Here’s the latest word on this study bill; SF 350; a measure that passed both houses overwhelmingly in 2004 and was subsequently vetoed by Gov. Vilsack.

For more information about this SF 350 go to: http://tinyurl.com/c5zncs

This bill is in committee right now and its funnel date is this Friday, March 13th. The Transportation committee needs to vote to get this bill out of committee and onto the floor by this date or the bill is dead for this year.

If you think this bill would be helpful for homeschoolers, HAIL urges you to contact the committee members listed below THIS WEEK and let them know you’d like them to vote to send this bill to the Senate Floor for debate.

You can contact them 3 ways:

1) By phone, call the main senate switchboard at (515) 281 3371.

2) You can send an email to them at the email address listed by their name.

3) Mail a personal letter to each senator at:

State Capitol Building
East 12th & Grand
Des Moines, Iowa 50319

If you do not know your senator or representative, go to either of these places. Hail-Homeschool Alliances for Homeschool Learners. Here is another site that you can go to, NICHE

If you live in Iowa and this pertains to your family, I suggest that you act fast and let them know how you feel. I think that I am going to email each day and let them know how supported I am towards this. Have a great day.

Homeschool Classified

2009-02-24T05:58:00.007-06:00

Here is another site that was just sent to me in my e-mail. With the economy becoming very expensive we need to find all the help that we can to help with cost. Here is a Homeschool Classified website, New and used books. Check it out. It has great information on it. I am also going to set this site and the other sites to my marigins. So keep looking for great information.

Homeschool freebies of the day

2009-02-22T13:44:00.006-06:00

glitter-graphics.com

I received an e-mail last night from a homeschool group about a great website. This website has daily free items for homeschools or even for not homeschoolers. The site is called Homeschool freebies of the Day.

Here are some rules that the site would like you to follow, first of all, the freebie only last for that day. Once the day is over, they offer a new freebie. Once you get the freebie, you can not share it with a friend, have your friend go and sign up of it. You do have to go to the site up above to sign up for it. It is really worth the time to do so. I signed up last night and recieved a book on how to make butter in my blender and a book for boys. You have to sign up and I suggest that you go to the site a read the instructions. This is a handy site for any family that is homeschooling on a string. Have fun with it.

Here is an updated link

2009-02-22T01:02:00.005-06:00

Alpha and Omega Publications has a new homeschool link. I will also update this in the margin. I am doing some research on some other sites. I hope to post some new websites soon. God bless ya.

Blast from the Past

2009-02-17T19:34:00.007-06:00

This is a picture of me taking a picture of my cousin. I was about nineteen when this picture was taken. I am now scrapbooking albums for my children. Our oldest will be graduating next year. I would like to be able to show a scrapbook of things that he did and picture of his life. I also want to send out letters to family and friends and ask them to give me one of their favorite verses or mottos. I want to compile them into a book for him.. I learned this from Michael W. Smith, the singer. He gave this as a sample of a great gift for someone. I just can not believe that we are looking at a couple of years and our son will be out trying to make a life for himself. Wow. Time flies, I hope to be on here some more to share other sites and other ideas. It is a brand new year and great for new ideas. God bless all of you.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T13:47:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year from Our Family to Yours. I am really looking forward to this new year and all the love, test and trials that will be in it. I hope that I will be able to get to know some of you and I hope to get on the web and find some awesome new Homeschooling sites. The internet is an awesome tool for the homeschool family. There are countless sites that can be used for the children. God bless all of you and have a great day. Sincerely the Ross Family

Horton Hears a Who

2008-12-22T12:10:00.005-06:00

Saturday, our family took the kids to see "Horton Hears a Who". Our theater here in town always gives free showings of movies to the kids during the month of December. We had a blast and the movie is really great for the kids. It was done very well, I highly recomend this movie for all families. So, this season while you are making goodies or making out your Christmas cards, place this video in and watch the kids have a wonderful time. God bless all of you and have a great Christmas season, from the Ross family

Pamela's Prayer

2008-12-03T11:24:00.018-06:00

If you are like my husband and I, you want the best for your children. Jeff and I have deceided that we want Luke and Melanie to grow up waiting for their future spouse. This even involves kissing that person. A couple of years ago, we found a great movie about that subject. It is a true story of a young lady named Pamela and her father. Her Father has prayed with since she was born and he has given her to God. He wants her to wait until she is married before she kisses any guy and so she will not be

lead to do other things with a boy. It is an awesome movie. The other night Melanie and I sat down and we watched the movie together. This brought up many conversations and Melanie was very intriged with it. I explained to her that a relationship with Jesus is more important than a relationship with a boy. God already had her husband picked out. I hope this helped her to see that God is the most important and not a boy. I ordered this video from Christian books distributors or CBD.com. It is only 8.99, I am not sure what shipping is. This is an awesome video for your kids or for neices and nephews, grand children, etc.
We sure like to watch it here. I hope all of you had a blessed Thanksgiving and I will be on and off the blog this season. If you have any question, please comment and I will be happy to help in any way I can. God bless you all From the Ross Family.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T00:43:00.005-06:00

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and my prayers go out to all of you. God bless you all

from the Ross Family.

Some awesome family fun

2008-10-13T08:52:00.009-05:00

I have to admit, our family loves to watch tv, so I try to show the kids some good wholesome entertainment, and here are a few of them:

I have to admit that one of my favorite dvd's is this series from Kent Hovind. There are seven dvd's in the series and each dvd can range from two hours to four hours. There is some awesome information on these dvd's. He totally erases the opinion of evalution and he has so much information on these that it will take a year or so for you to even get through it. We have to watch one a week and only half of it, because there is so much information on them. If you want to check out the dvd's the website is http://www.drdino.com/. It is well worth it. They also give you the option of buying the dvd's seperate or the whole set. You can now buy study quides to go with it. They are good. I believe that the whole set is about 100.00. I tell you, they are worth it. And once you get your hands on the set, you can copy them for others. There is no copywrite on them. Kent Hovind just wants the word out.

This movie is amazing. It is about a man named Peter who became the minister for the senators. He is from Ireland and he comes to America. He is the husband of Cathrine Marshall and the father to Peter Marshall. Cathrine wrote the series "Christy" and Peter wrote the curriculum "For the light and Glory." Amazing movie, one that I really need to get in my collection for the kids. God is so good, and you will love the movie after you have watched it.

I use to watch this show on tv. I loved the show and I wanted to be able to share this with my daughter. You can order this whole series from CBD for only 35.00. The awesome part about this series, inside of the dvd's is a booklet full of bible studies that go along with each show. I was so excited about this. I am going to introduce this to the children during our devotions at night. It is a pretty in depth study. I really encourage you to take a look at it. I also noticed on the CBD website that there are a series of books about Christy.

A couple of years ago a company called "Feature films for families" called us and offered us some movies. They have a wonderful line of movies from toddlers all the way up to adults. I love the way the movies have question and discussions on the back of each movie. So, we watch the movie and then we discuss it. It really gets the kids involved with it. I have also seen some awesome movies that just make me cry or feel good. Most of the movies have people who are popular, there are a couple that I did not reconize any of the actors. That is okay, they are still awesome movies. A couple of movies I highly recomend is, "A song for a season", "By Dawns Early Light" and " A Gift of Love". These are all awesome movies that you will love.

Well, it was great telling you all about our family and I hope that all of you have a wonderful day.

Let me introduce myself

2008-10-04T12:01:00.007-05:00

My name is Tanya Ross. I would like to give a little testimony about myself. First of all, I did not start my kids out on home school. This was a leading by Jesus. In 2000, my husband and I started a new church. The both of us rededicated our hearts and lives back to our Jesus. During that time our children were in the public school.

One day, my husband came to me and asked me if I would consider homeschooling. I kind of laughed this off, but I did go to prayer about it. The Lord lead me to bringing our children home. Our Son Luke was in fourth grade and our daughter preschool. She really has not had a knowledge of formal class room. Luke if asked, will tell you that he does not want to go back to public school and our daughter Melanie is not sure. I feel really blessed to be a home school mom. There has been a lot of rewards, especially being able to watch my children grow. My children are more relaxed for some reason and they have great imaginations.

They are both so wonderful and they love each other so much. I never have to break them up in a fight, they love one another so much. I hope that after I am long gone, they both keep up relationship and their families grow up together. Melanie thinks that her brother is a knight and he will protect her. How awesome is that. Homeschooling is a radical decision.

When Jeff and I thought about homeschooling, I was working full time. It was so difficult to do school and work. Now I am a full time mother and I love to be with my kids. God is so good and sometimes we never know why God does what He does. But He knows best. He has change my thinking of being a mom and how important it is to be a good example for my children. Am I perfect, no, I am human. Do I seek forgiveness through my children and repent, yes, I never want my kids to feel they have to be perfect and they are not loved. They are and I am also. I hope that my blog helps you in your seeking of homeschooling. If you have any question, please let me know. If I do not know the answer, I will find if for you. The Internet can be a wonderful place for you, there is so much on the net to help with school. God bless all of you, and good luck in your search.

Board Games

2008-10-01T20:11:00.008-05:00

If you are looking for some new ideas to use to keep homeschooling fun, I have a suggestion. I have added board games to our daily routine and the kids love it. I bought "Rush Hour" and "Apples to Apples" for the kids. These are great games that create thinking and promblem solving. I highly suggest these two games. I have also bought a couple of other games that I will tell you about later on. We haven't gotten to them yet. I also introduced the abucus and some pattern blocks. This kids really enjoy the hands on and it seems to keep their interest. I really suggest that you look into some board games and other hands on activities. Have a great beginning to your new year.

Sincerely,

I bought these from "Rainbow Resource", they were really reasonable.

Hey, I am still around

2008-09-26T15:45:00.006-05:00

Hello, yes I am still around. We have been so busy here. Our son left for two weeks to visit his grandparents in Washington state. Our daughter is here with us and we have been working on the house some. It has been a weird autumn and the leaves are turning, but the weather is warm. We have started school, but I have been taking time off because Luke is gone and Melanie is having a hard time concentrating. I will try to post some more websites and some offers in a week or so. I haven't really done alot of research. Hopefully once our schedule dies down, I will get a chance to surf the net.
This is my husband and I in front of our house. We will be celebrating eighteen years of marriage on Sunday. He is an awesome guy and I love him alot. Thank you so much for checking out our homeschool blog and I hope that you will find useful information on this blog. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them and I will get back to you. God bless you all from Tanya

CPI Forms for Iowa

2008-08-13T07:02:00.005-05:00

This has always been alittle confusing for me, "What day do we put in our CPI forms?" Well, this year I have been alittle more concerned and asking more questions. I found the answer to my question through my Supervising Teacher. If you live in Iowa, you have to have your CPI forms in by or on the first day of school. Here in Red Oak, the first day of school is August 19th. If you are having trouble locating CPI Forms, here is a couple of site to get them from. Niche has forms on their website, these are the forms that I use the most. I do the portfolio, so all of the forms that I reconize are on this site. Another site to get forms is Homeschool Legal defense, they have all the forms on their site. Also, if you are signing up a child that is 6, there is a lead testing process. You can read all about it on this site. I do not have a six year old, so I am really not sure what it is all about, but I would hate to show you these sites and not say anything about it. This time of the year is really busy for me, I am getting books ordered and planning out the kid's schedule. Then I am grading this year, that is huge for me. I am also doing this while my husbands family is living with us, they moved in on the 25th of July. So, it has been a really busy new school year. I hope that you will be able to have a relaxed beginning of the year, and that everything just falls into place. Again, if you have any questions or concerns, you can leave a comment or email me at www.tanya_rss@yahoo.com. Have a great day.

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A New Search Engine

2008-07-30T11:38:00.005-05:00

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I would like to announce that there is a new search engine for homeschoolers. Of course it is new, but it is now availiable.

Grading, UGH!

2008-07-29T12:05:00.012-05:00

glitter-graphics.com

For years, I have not graded my children because, I did not know how or I was not sure on how to grade. Yesterday, I went to a seminar by my homeschool supervisior. She taught our group from a book call "Making The Grade." It was an awesome seminar and I learned so much about grades. I highly advice you to check out this website. The book is by Lesha Myers, she compares the grades with the bible. You have to check out the book, I am going to start planning my school year here within the couple of days. I am really excited. Lesha suggest that you plan your school days and then start the grading process. If you have any questions about homeschool, please me @ tanya_rss@yahoo.com, I hope that I can help. Have a great planning.

Nature Study

2008-07-22T20:30:00.011-05:00

"Pocketful of Pinecones" is a great book for beginning or even pro home school mothers. Karen does an awesome job taking diary entries to help you understand how to do nature studies. I really enjoyed reading this book and I encourage any mother who wants to use nature study as science to read this book. It also gives other ideas for just homeschooling your children. I highly recommend these books.

"Handbook of Nature Study" is an awesome book if you want to do a nature study with your child. I have a copy of this book and it has so much information in it. I plan to go on nature walks with my daughter and get her in the thought of God's creation. Anna Comstock really spent some time doing the research and pictures. Really worth the money.

We have had a wet summer here in Iowa and with all the dampness we have received some interesting house guest. The fruit flies have been terrible and the spiders just as much. We have also had some June bugs and some black ants. My daughter and son have been really curious about all of these bugs. So, I did some googling and found some wonderful websites I want to share with you. This is the Wild Life education site. It has wonderful pictures of insect and spiders and it even has curriculum to download. This is the Land Care Research website of New Zealand, there is so much information on this site.

This site has all kinds of information about insects and spiders, and wouldn't you know it, it is call Everything about.This is a bug guide to use with so much information. This is a website from Arizona,

Getting Ready for School

2008-07-17T06:03:00.018-05:00

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Like many of you, I am trying to get scheduling and curriculum in order. I have noticed that some of the shipping has been aweful, in some cases as much as what I have bought. The price of gas is so crazy and has causes shipping to be high. This company is offering free shipping with the purchase of $29.00 or more and no sales tax. The company is love to learn.
Rainbow Resource, they offer free shipping after $150.00 in sales. Rainbow Resource is a huge company and they have alot of products that you can choose from. Most of the time I can get all of my school supplies through them. Another company that offers free shipping is Dover Publication, if you buy $50.00 worth of items.
I would just look around and check out all of the different sites, if anything try to order all of your items off the same site. It may be cheaper that way. I also suggest using your local library, I am going to do that this year. I plan on putting library day in our schedule. And again, if there is a company that you use and would like to share, please let me know. I am always looking for fresh websites that I can share.

glitter-graphics.com

Beauty

2008-07-13T11:59:00.006-05:00

In this world, the view of beauty is so misstrued. Our daughters are growing up and watching the models and movie stars distort beauty. In all of this, there is one company that is trying to give our daughters a chance at looking a beauty in a different way. I should reword that, there are lots of people and websites who are giving our daughters a chance, but one manufactoring company is doing the same thing.

Our daughters look up to us as mothers. We are the beauty that they see everyday, and therefore it should be us who trains our daughters to be beautiful. And Dove sees that, they have an eighteen page pamplet that you can down load and a mother's guide that you can do with your daughters. I looked throught the guide, and although I did not agree with all of it, there are some wonderful questions in it for you and your daughter. I was really impressed with what Dove is trying to do.

There is also a book, if you want the christian veiw point called " Who calls me Beautiful?" by Regina Franklin. The book has several questions that you and your daughter can go throught at the end of each chapter. Regina takes this subjects and she compares it to what Jesus says about beauty. It is a really good book. I want to do it with Melanie. In this day and age it is up to us as mom's to renforce our daughter image of themselves. They need us to tell them of true beauty. If you check out either one of these sites or the book, please give me some feed back. Or if you know of other sites, let me know so that I can post it. God bless all of you, From Tanya

New Websites

2008-07-09T09:31:00.017-05:00

Here are some more sites that I have stumbled upon. I hope that you will be able to find what you are looking for. I know that now is a great time to shop for school. If you wait to long, you sometimes have to wait for your supplies before you start school, have fun shopping. Here is Birch Books, this is a Consumer math site, this is writing workshop site for children, this site is for math games online, I played some of the games and I had a great time. This is a free spelling course. This is a math challenge online games site, or their are worksheets that you can pull off.

Here are some history sites that have free things or you can order items from them. This is a really nice history site, This site is an animated history timeline, this site is a christian history timeline, this is another church time line, this is an American Heritage site.

This site is a homeschool planner site, I am looking for other sites that can be utilized for free. The web is full of awesome resources for your homeschool needs. I hope that you are able to use all of this information.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T11:48:00.004-05:00

glitter-graphics.com

I just wanted to say a warm, Happy 4th of July and hope that it is full of fun, family and festivities. I will not be posting any more this weekend. I do have some more websites to post on Monday or Tuesday. But until then, have a wonderful day.

Incredible Websites!

2008-07-01T13:50:00.010-05:00

I was actually looking for curriculum for my parenting class that I host on Tuesday nights. I volunteer at the local Pregnancy Center in our town. I found two sites that I really encourage you to look at. Education.com is an awesome site, it has articles on discipline and different grades. It also has a test to show your childrens learning style. Wonderful site. Another site that I stumbled upon, is a website for homeschoolers, lots of information for you and your children. Another great site was Homeschool Advisors, they had alot of information on their site. I hope that you check out these sites and find information that you need. God bless all of you.

I would like to thank Karen at karenwhimsy.com for all the beautiful victorian pictures. Please go check her site out. Have a great day.

An American Girl Giveaway

2008-06-27T06:43:00.006-05:00

I am really sorry if you tried to get on the links and they blocked you out. Try this new link, it should take you right to the Common Sense Website. Sorry for the trouble. Tanya

Common Sense Website is hosting a contest for the new Kit Kittredge Movie, in theater July 1st. The contest is not supported by the American Girls, it is an individual contest that Common Sense is putting on. The girls have to be thirteen years of age or older to enter. But, you have to enter really soon, because the winner will be announced in next weeks e-newsletter. Melanie and I have been ready about Samatha, I am not sure who is liking it more, Mel or I. Have a great day, Tanya

Opportunity For A Give Away

2008-06-24T19:33:00.010-05:00

God bless all of you who visited Kelly's blog and signed up for the contest. Kelly drew the name, You will have to check out kelly's blog and see who the winner was.
The give away is at Kelly's blog

The whole series is available at Vision Forum. You will have to check it out. I do not know what this particular series is about, but I trust Vision Forum. I like all the character building books and the history books. Most definitely go to Kelly's blog and sign up. It ends this Friday at midnight. Good Luck to ya all.

Handiwork

2008-06-23T11:44:00.013-05:00

This cross stitch is from Sew Inspirations.

I really like the fact that Charlotte Mason did handiwork. I never thought of it with my children. Both of my kids are hands on, so handiwork is really awesome. I am not sure what kind of handiwork you like, I love cross stitching and I really want to teach my daughter. I went to hopechestlegacy last night and Rebekah offers a step by step guide to cross stitchen for your kids. All you have to do is e-mail Rebekah and get permission to use the lesson. I did it and she replied within minutes. Here are some other sites that I really loved. Teaching kids to cross stitch, dltk, sew inspiration, daisy design,and a wonderful blog from Becky. If you would like to see a list of handiwork go to Ambleside online.
This is also from Sew Inspirations.

Elsie Dinsmore

2008-06-21T12:02:00.004-05:00

I was wondering if anyone out there in the homeschool land is using Elsie Dinsmore for their daughter. I started using American girl, which is really okay, but not alot of mention of God. I really want to use wholesome books for my little girl, to teach character building. If any one has a suggestion, I would love to hear about it. I think that this year, I would like to use more whole some books, novels and biographies to teach my children. Thank you for any kind of comments you have. God bless all of you and keep having a great summer.

Community Projects

2008-06-20T06:39:00.006-05:00

My daughter and some of her friends, just put on a small play for some of the residents at a local nursing home. Before I homeschooled or even had made the decision, I worked outside the home. I worked at that same nursing home. Every once in a while, I had taken my son and daughter in to meet the residents. They were so scared and they wouldn't even talk to them. This year, I wanted my daughter to reach out and look at others more than herself. So, a group of us, each month, take our daughters in and they share with the residents, what they do in homeschool. My daughter has really come out of her shell. She pushes residents in their wheel chairs and she sits down with them and just talks to them. I love watching her. I believe that has given her alot of confedence.

Our son and daughter also help me on Tuesday nights. I am a volunteer at the local pregnancy center. They come in and babysit the children of my clients, while I have a parenting class. The children just look up to my kids. One of the little boys would even copy everything my son did. I am not sure if that is a good thing? My children get so much out of reaching out to others. Of course, my kids are not perfect and they need alot more teaching on respect and thinking of others. But, this gives them the chance to look at the community and think of others. I really encourage community work. If you have little ones, of course wait. I think at five or six, you could be introducing them to your area. About eight or nine, I would get them involved. It just blesses them and you see a side of your children that is encouraging.

I started volunteering when I was seventeen, I chose a nursing home. I was really scared at first, but I loved it. When I got a full time job, I had to quit, it became to much. But, I would not change it for anything. I hope that all of you are having a wonderful summer, and I will keep posting here and there. God bless all of you from,

Online Games

2008-06-18T07:46:00.005-05:00

Our family has always been one with computers or with devices, up to date items. I believe that there are alot of jobs out there that have fast pased technology. That is why my husband and I let the kids spent surpervised time on the computer. I love all the websites with educational games on them. I do not let my children spend idal time on the computer, that is when they start going to sites they do not need to be on. I hope that next year I can plan on some computer time for each child. For now, they spend some personnal time on the computer. I have added some more sites to the "online game" catagory. I hope that you will check out some of these site. For personnal opinion, I do not encourage that you use the computer as a baby sitter, which I know alot of you feel the same way I do. But, there is alot of resources out there that can encourage and support the subjects that you are teaching your children. I hope that you will look into it and let the sites speak for themselves. Have a great day and summer, Tanya

Free Rice

2008-06-16T23:51:00.002-05:00

This is a great site to go to. Either you can do it yourself or send your kids. It is a vocabulary site and the more you play, the more rice is donated to countries that need it. All you have to do is go here and play. Have fun, Tanya

Like to Get to Know You

2008-06-07T11:17:00.007-05:00

Hello, my name is Tanya. I would like to extend a hand of thanks for coming to this blog. I was wondering, if you would please introduce yourself. I would also like to hear about your daily homeschool or products that you use. I find Homeschooling so interesting and everyone has such a wonderful way of doing it. If you are not comfortable commenting, you can go to rosstanya@hotmail.com to talk more and privately. I also have a wonderful friend who has a blog on one income families and frugal living. You can get there from here. Can not wait to here from you. God bless all of you from Tanya

Music

2008-06-05T15:32:00.005-05:00

My son just got this guitar. He bought it with his own money. He is really catching on to the guitar. Our daughter is learning the recorder. I would like to show her the clarinet and the saxaphone. But lately she has wanted to play the drums. I guess we will see. I hope that all of you are having a wonderful summer.

Now is a really good time to think about music or arts. I know that you can duel enroll your child and have them learn through the school. There are wonderful curriculms that you can get to help the child, here are a couple of catalogs that have music, Rainbow Resourceand CBD website

I love music, I played the clarinet in Middle school and some of High School. I really think that it is import for my children to be able to express themself. I want them to have other oppertunities besides workbook work. Summer is always a wonderful time to search for the fall year. And fall will be just around the corner. Happy Searching.

Another Great Review On A Website

2008-05-21T16:56:00.015-05:00

I was looking at some of the sites that I have posted on my homeschool margin. I stumbled up this site that offers old primers of every kind. All you have to do is down load them, and all of the primers are free. There is this math series that I have been looking at, it is called Ray's Mathmatics, well I found it on this site. It is an awesome site and I highly recommend that you check it out.

On the homeschool margin, it is listed as Happy Hearts Homeschooling Library. Have a great time checking out this site.

A Couple Of New Sites

2008-05-16T14:56:00.006-05:00

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I received my new catalog from Home schooling Books. There was two websites listed on the back. They are really interesting. Homeschooling books and Christian story book. I hope that you enjoy these sites.

Music makes the heart soar

2008-05-15T10:16:00.005-05:00

Character Building For Boys and Girls

2008-05-15T09:25:00.012-05:00

A Couple of years ago I was introduced to a women named Charlotte Mason. She was a teacher in the early centuries who was a school teacher. Her approach really intriged me. One of the subject that she took very seriously was character building and handiwork.

I find it really important, since we are with our children all the time, to teach them skills that will help them manage a life of obediance when they leave home. There are wonderful sites out there with curriculum to help our children learn these tasks. I would like to name off a few.

Hope Chest Legacy

Homeschool blogger

Keepers of the Home

Homeschooling from the heart

His-Net

Door Post

I know that there are so many others out there. I would also like to introduce this company I just found. It seems that they offer books for character building. www.salemridgepress.com and this site is amazing www.rhlschool.com. I hope that you will be able to find the curriculum that suites your family. If I remember right Ambleside online had a list of handiwork for Boys and Girls that you can just print off. Happy Hunting!

Summer School

2008-05-12T13:59:00.011-05:00

I have decieded that we are not going to take the summer off. I really believe that the kids needs to at least read and do some of their math assignments. I do not want them to loose what they have retained. So, I would like to share some sights that I have found. First of all, check with your local library. Some of them have reading programs. Here are some sites that I found www.readingrocket.org, www.codli.ca/CITE/summer_reading.htm, and www.educationworld.com. Try these different sites, also you can google "summer reading" and see what comes up for you. It is so important to keep our children reading. They will learn more spelling words, they will become more steady with reading and so much imagination will pop in their heads.

Have a great time with reading and make sure that you get some reading time also. God bless all of you homeschool moms and dads. Sincerely Tanya

Happy Mother's Day To all You dedicated Mommies.

2008-05-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

I would like to extend a Happy Mother's Day to any women who made having children and a family a priority. God bless all of you, and you are dear the Lord's Heart. God bless you all, Love Tanya

Scheduling

2008-05-04T15:18:00.001-05:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

This last week, I was getting the kids' portfolio set up for my viewer. I used Homeschool tracker this year. I thought that it was really handy. I also used some worksheets from Garden Patch. You can find this software at www.cbd.com and www.rainbowresource.com. I am not sure what your state requires, but in Iowa, we can have a supervised teacher or do a portfolio. I like the freedom of setting up a portfolio. Plus, it give a wonderful folder set up of the childrens work.

You can down load Homeschooltracker on their site, www.homeschooltracker.com, I just down loaded the basic one, I am thinking that next year I may do the Plus. It cost money, but really it is worth it. When I stumble on some more ideas, I will put them in the margin or I will blog about them. God bless all of you. And good luck with scheduling this summer. Tanya

My Personnal Blog

2008-05-02T11:47:00.003-05:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

Have a wonderful weekend

For all of you who visit this site. I do have another blog, it is my personnal blog. It is www.biynah.wordpress.com, Please come and visit it. This is now my homeschool blog. I have been really busy trying to get my childrens portfolio's ready. This is why I have not blogged. I will try to blog more over the weekend. Have a great day. Tanya

A new link

2008-04-29T08:23:00.006-05:00

My son and I have been looking over his assignments and he is not feeling challenged enough. So, I have been praying about this and lo and bohold this catalog showed up in my mail. It is called R&D Educational Center. I looked through the catalog and came across an awesome history curriculum. I really am excited about it. So, I went on the website and they even have samples that you can look at. www.rdeducation.com. You have to check it out. All of the curriculum is creation minded, and they have alot of books on patriotism. Go and check it out, it is worth it. Tanya

Homeschool family

2008-04-28T17:21:00.002-05:00

This is really funny. Tim Hawkins has several little you tube movies on you tube. Remember to turn off the music to hear it. God bless you from Tanya

Teaching Music

2008-04-20T20:13:00.007-05:00

My children are very talented when it comes to music or art. I believe that this important for children. It shows talent for the kids and gives them something else to look forward too. In our community we are blessed to have a lady who teaches the piano. Our son chose to learn the guitar. And of course we are blessed that grandpa had a band and dad knows how to play also. Our daughter is learning how to play the recorder. I hope to eventually move her into a clarinet or saxaphone. There are some wonderful sights to help you with piano or recorder.

www.8notes.com
www.freekidsmusic.com
www.pianoiseasy2.com
www.edhelper.com different music themes
www.gmajormusictheory.org/Freebies/freebies.html
www.kaboose.com

These are some sites that you could look at. Music can be so fun. And you just never know how your child will react. This is one of the subjects that you can teach. Also, you may just want to teach the children about composers. When you do homeschool play one of the composers, like Bach or Beethoven. You will be surprised how the kids do. Here are some sites with biographies of the composers.
www.pennygardner.com
www.gardenofpraise.com

Here is some free downloads of classical music:
www.freemusicnow.com
www.amblesideonline.com

check out these sites. The internet can be such an awesome resorce.
I hope that some of this helps. Talk to ya later, From Tanya

Next Step in Your decision to Homeschool

2008-04-18T14:59:00.011-05:00

I also forgot to say in the last post, that I really encourage you and your husband to pray about this decision. Also, make sure that your husband is on the same page as you are on homeschooling. It is a big decision and should be shared with both of you. If you have any reservations and are not sure what to do, please feel free to ask me some questions at tanya_rss@yahoo. Also, ask around in your community and find out who homeschools.
The next step to homeschooling would be to look for a curriculum that would be suited for your family. The first year that I homeschooled, I used Christian Liberty. This is a wonderful program for one or two children, but if you have many children you may want to look into a curriculum that would grow with your children, like SOW or Weaver. These are the websites that you can look at, www.christianliberty.com
www.sowcurriculum.com
www.aop.com.
These are wonderful sites and can give a wealth of information. You can also look at different sites and pick different subject from different venders. We use "Christian Kids Explore Science" by Stephanie L. Redmond. We also use alot of "Rod and Staff." I like to give the children a variety of different options. The day could become boring for the kids, so I try to mix it up. And remember this is your homeschool, what is it that you want your children to know? What is important to your family? Yes, you do have to teach them certain things, but it all falls down to your family.
I have a list of several different websites in the margins. Look at all of them and get some ideas of what is best for your family. Another resource is Homeschool Conventions. There are wonderful speakers and you can look at the curriculum first hand. If you need to find a convention in your area, look up www.hslda.com/", they should have a listing. Keep praying and looking to the Lord for direction. God bless all of you . Tanya

So You Want to Homeschool?

2008-04-17T15:30:00.006-05:00

Girly Comments & Graphics
So you are thinking about Homeschooling your child. Before you homeschool, there are some things you may want to look into first. In my state, we are recommended to have a supervised teacher or we can portfolio. I chose to portfolio on both of my children. First of all, I do not have to have all the visits with my supervised teacher and I do not have to pay as much. Secondly, it gives me wonderful notebooks with all of their work and I am able to see the improvements from one week to the next. Your state may have you do something different. I would first look into this site http://www.hslda.org/. This is a wonderful site, it gives you information about your state laws, different cases that they are working on and even a page to get worksheets. The Home School Legal Defense is a smart idea, I highly recomend that you become a member of this association.

After you have looked into Home School Legal Defense, I recommend a book that I really loved. It is called, "So You Want To Homeschool?" by Lisa Welchel. Two years after I started homeschooling, I ran across this book. I thought, why should I read this, but I did. I am so glad that I did. Lisa interviews several families and tells you how they homeschool. It is really good. Packed with alot of ideas and different ways of homeschooling. You can look at the book on http://www.lisawelchel.com/. Another good book to look into is "Educating the Whole Child," by Sally Clarkson. Sally's website is http://www.wholeheart.org/. She is amazing and she gives so much information. She talks more about the Charlotte Mason approach also. There is this test in the book to determine your childs learning style. It is worth it. I hope that some of this helps you to determine weather you want to homeschool or not. I love homeschooling my children and it is really benificial. God bless you from Tanya

Garden Patch

2008-04-15T21:18:00.007-05:00

This is written by Debora McGregor, she produced this for mothers who need worksheets for their homeschool. This is a wonderful program. When you get it, just install it into your computer and you will be able to print out your handy worksheet. There are several worksheets on Handwriting, Science, Prayer Journals, Grocery list, Phone List, High School Transcipts, History outline, timelines and biography sheets and much more. There is also attendance sheets, portfolio sheets and grading sheets. Any sheet that you would like to use, it is on this program. I highly recommend this for a homeschool mom, who is on the run and need to set up programs for their children.

CBD $17.99
Rainbow Resource $15.95

I hope that you look into it. Thank you from Tanya

Introduction

2008-04-15T07:57:00.002-05:00

Hello, my name is Tanya. I have been a homeschool mom for sometime. My husband is the one who wanted me to homeschool. At first I resisted and then I put it in God's hands. He lead us to make the final decision. I would never go back to public school. My two children have grown and flurished, they are free and full of imagination. This blog used to be a personnal one, I moved and I did not want this one to go to waste. So, I am going to make this my homeschool one. I will post homeschool sites and articles on homeschool. I also will anounce other happenings that I find important to know. Keep you eyes open for different post and please check out my other blog at www.biynah.wordpress.com. Thank you and I hope that you enjoy. Tanya

New blog

2008-03-06T01:58:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone who visit my site. I am moving. I noticed that this site is really running slow and I have had some of my visitors tell me that they comment and it did not come up. So, I am moving to a site that I can manage. The site address is http://biynah.wordpress.com

biynah means wisdom in Hebrew. That is cool. So I will see you all over at the other blog. Love ya always, Tanya

A New Look on Life

2008-03-05T12:21:00.003-06:00

Well, it is another day. And I am thankful that I can be part of it. I am finanlly able to do dishes and clean the house. I was at the center yesterday and I walked up the stairs without hyper ventalating. I was able to carry on a conversation also while walking the steps. I also have lost the attitude about I am too tired to do it. I have felt really good, of course I have an ugly bruise where the ivy went in and I had a little reaction to the tape. But that is nothing to how I feel. Jeff also, took himself off the prozac and he is feeling alot better. For the first time we are praying together and other things are falling back into place. I am really encouraged by this year again. I am able to see that God does have a plan for us, it is going to be big and I have hope once again. I am also really excited to get out and exercise and eat better. I am so glad that all of you have been praying and thinking about me. Besides God, you are also the main reason I have been holding myself up. Just having sisters who love me has kept me going. I love all of you and I hope that you take this time to renew and reboot. Spring is just around the corner and the earth will be blooming and become alive again. We should also. Love all of you. Love Tanya

God is Good

2008-03-03T22:09:00.003-06:00

I had a long day at Craighton University. It took eight hours, but I got some iron and I am feeling really good. I will know more on Monday when Dr. Wyatt takes another blood test. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and love. I love all of you also. God bless all of you.

Update

2008-03-03T06:29:00.003-06:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

Well, I have been really busy since Thursday night. About nine oclock that night, my doctor called and stated that my blood level was 6.7. Now this is bad, because the normal blood level is 12-15. I had to rush up to Creighton Universaty in Omaha. They did some more testing and realized that I have been low for probably a year. My body actually just adjusted to the low blood count. And then by Friday morning they tested my blood again and I was 5.6. So, they gave me two pints of blood, and I am on so much medicine it is not even funny. Today, I am going back to Creighton to have an iron iv. They believe that this will increase my iron very quickly. My doctor laughed at me and said wait till you are up to 12-15 again, you will not even know how to act. I am so thankful that this was caught in time, if I started bleeding again, I would of died. I am blessed and I am healed. The Lord is good and I am starting to feel better already. Thank you for all of your prayers and I will keep you all up dated.

Dear Lord, guide our vehicle and keep us safe. Give the doctors wisdom and a steady hand. And thank you for healing my body. I am healed and blessed to be your daughter. Amen.

Thankful Thursday

2008-02-28T17:25:00.006-06:00

Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.com

A good friend of mine started this and I just want to tell you something that has made me soooooo thankful today. Last year, I was rushed to the hospital, I couldn't stop bleeding and my blood level was 6, normal is 12. So the hospital admitted me and I went under some testing. The doctors were concerned because they said I had an abnormally large uterus. They gave me a pint of blood and wanted to to concider having this treatment where they put boiling water in my uterus and carterize it. Or have a histerectomy. I could not get myself to do either one. So, the rest of the year I was fine and I let it go. January of this year I started in with the bleeding. I took Iron pill and I refuse to let the same thing happen. And all this time I stood on healing from God. I decieded to get a second opinion. I called another Doctor here is town and today I went to see him. He did all the testing and then gave me a ultrasound and right there on the screen was an inch long tumor. He even told me it was not cancerous. So, I look at the doctor and said, is my uterous healthy? He smiled and said that is the most healthist uterous I have seen in a long time. I was so overjoyed and I knew from that moment God healed me. In fact my uterous is normal sized and is not enlarged by any means. I am healed in the name of Jesus Christ and I am so thankful for His word and The women He brought into my life. So, the next step is surgury on March 14th, but I am believeing that when I go in for surgury prep, that they will not find it. Praise the Lord. Today is thankful Thursday. I am bless, to know a Lord who loves me so much, that He healed me. God bless all you sister and keep believing in Him.

Guys and Gals by Brad Stine

2008-02-26T20:48:00.003-06:00

Also, at the top of this page is the music. You will have to turn the music off to listen to the video.
Lori, pay close attention to the first part of this video. It is really good. Brad Stine is really funny. Talk to you all later, Love Tanya

God is my Leader

2008-02-25T21:56:00.005-06:00

Well, I suppose all of you are wondering how that speech went. I have to be honest, I was really nervous. But when I got up to the podium, I lost all the nervousness and He lead me. I can not even tell you what I said, I really believe that the Holy Spirit guided my words. I remember the questions that were ask of me, but not what the speech was. I really had a great time and I met some people from our community and was able to spread the word about the center. The Lord is so good and I am so impressed with what God has for me next. I would also like to share something that I have been going through. I have been having some health issues. God sent a sister to me on Saturday who gave her word for me.

Ephesians 1:21-23 "Far above all principality, and power and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of hime that filleth all in all."

This sister told me that illness is not above the name of the Lord and we need to put it under his feet in the name of Jesus Christ. From the moment that I prayed this prayer the health issue has left. God, you are so good and I am so blessed. I have such wonderful friends. I encourage you to look up this scripture and also, look up scriptures on "name". God's name is powerful. Thank you so much for all of your prayer and support. Love all of you.

Give a Speech?

2008-02-24T17:15:00.003-06:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

So, Tomorrow I am giving a speech to the Kiwani's group here in town. I will be representing the Pregnancy Center of South West Iowa. I am really nervous, but I have peace about it. I really believe God is going to utilize the information and He is going to use me. I ask for all of your prayers and I will let you all know how it went after the speech. Pray for me really hard. Love all of you and I know I will do okay.

What a smile can do.

2008-02-22T07:57:00.008-06:00

This morning after I dropped Jeff off to work. I went to the store. And for some reason, when I shop, I get into some kind of zone. I am not paying attention to my surrounding. So, here I am at the store in a zone and I must of been smiling. Because, I would pass someone and they would smile back or bello a "good morning." Well, I thougth that this was a little strange, but I went with it. So now I sit in front of my computer, thinking. If you walk into a store with a frown will you get the same response? I do not think so, Smiling brings something out of people, it is contagious. So, why are alot of people not smiling? I think this is something that we need to evalutate. We need to smile more, say hello to people and start to make some divine appointments. To be availble for God to be able to use us. Funny, I blogged about a smile, it is a small thing that becomes a big thing. So, put on your smiles today. Love ya all and I hope you have a wonderful Friday.
glitter-graphics.com

Girly Comments & Graphics

Friendship Award

2008-02-20T10:15:00.004-06:00

For my friends a Friendship Award

This award was given to me by Robin from Bittersweetpunkin. She gave it to all the bloggers on her list. So, I am going to do to the same. If you have trouble getting this award off this site and on to your. Just right click on it and send it to a file on your computer. Then go to your blog and go into layouts to the add an element. Hit the add a picture and it will allow you to browse your computer. Find the award and add it. It is really simple. I am sure there has to be another way, but this is how I do it. Congratulations on all your blogs. I love to read them. God bless you all and have a wonderful day..

Romance

2008-02-20T09:12:00.006-06:00

"He the hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." John 14:21

This morning I was spending sometime with the Lord. After I was done reading the bible, I picked up my book Captivating. We are now in chapter seven and Stasi is talking about romance. Now, this is where I have a little trouble. When Jeff and I were first married, Jeff romanced me all the time. Flowers, candy, dinners out etc etc. Well, after we were married, it all changed. And I had some resentment issues with it. Now after seventeen years of marriage, I really have not pushed the issue or even cared for that matter. I realize that Jeff loves me and chocolates and flowers makes no difference to me. So, I had a little bit of a hesitation about reading this seventh chapter. She states that God adores us and that He is our bridegroom. Bridegroom, meaning lover or fiance. And that He will give us little gifts of Him to prove that He is romancing us. Like His creation, He shows us these all the time. Just yesterday I was at the center, and as I was getting out of my car, I seen a hawk circling over the middle school. I love the birds and the way that they glide in the wind. He wants to adore us, to love us and yes, He wants to Romance us. When I seen this scripture in John, I about flew out of my seat.

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" John 14:21

I am really encouraged by this scripture, He will manifest Himself to me. And He loves me, because I heed His commandments and because He created me. This is amazing to me. And really, I did love the Lord like the song, "Jesus love me this I know, for the bible tells me so." Yes, there is good word in that song, but there is a time where your love needs to become more mature. I want to be romanced by God, not that Jeff is not important to me, because he is. But, God is the one who created me, and I believe that God is the first start to really knowing what true love is. I look to God and fall in love and love will surround my life. I choose to love God and I am ready to be more romanced. I love you Lord. My heart is changing when it comes to the word "romance", it means so many other things. Look into it, do not be afraid of it. God wants you and you know you want God. Ask Him this question "Jesus, how are you romancing me now?"

I am Back.....

2008-02-19T06:19:00.005-06:00

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Well, I am back. I took some days off to be with the family. Melanie and I had a really great time at the Nursing Home. And then we took Luke and Melanie to a rollerskating party. We gave Melanie a choice weather to go rollerskating or do someting else. And she wanted to go, so we took her. When Jeff put on her rollerskates and then tried to stand her up, she went hysterical. She started crying and screaming at Jeff and I. We convinced her to rollerskate to one side of the rink. Jeff and I had to both help her. When we got there she would not move and cried for about fifteen minutes. Jeff and I sat there and waited. What amazed me, was I have not meet alot of these people, because they were from another Homeschool group. But, all these girls, kept coming up to Melanie and prompting her to skate. I was so impressed. Of course there were her other friends, who also prompted her. But, I sat there and I prayed. Lord, what do I do? Do I make her skate or give in and let her have her shoes. I leaned down to Melanie and I said, God will never leave you nor forsake you. Yes, you will fall down, But God will pick you up. And with that word, Melanie got up and we helped her for alittle while and then she was off. Jeff and I did not see her for the rest of the time there. Yes, He will never leave you nor forsake you. I know that in my brain, sometimes reaching my heart is alittle different. This is what I was going through Saturday night, I felt abandend by God, why would you put me throught this? Why am I facing this? When I got home Saturday night from Jeff's Parents house, a dear friend called and left this message on my machine, "Tanya, I am to call to tell you from the Lord, that He has not left you, and He love you so much. He is right by your side." As I listened to my friend tell me this, I broke down and bawled. I had felt like He had left me, but He was right by my side and He still is. Yes, I am going to fall sometimes, But He will pick me up and dust me off and hug me, and love me with all of His heart. So, again, I am so blessed with sisters who heed the call of the Lord. I needed that phone call more then I even knew I did. God, knows best, this is why He sents us sisters. God bless you all, and I love you so much, more then you will ever know.

It is Friday!

2008-02-15T10:17:00.005-06:00

I am here to tell you, that I am glad today is Friday. It has been a really interesting week. Today, Melanie and I are going to the Nursing Home with some other Homeschoolers to share what we have learned. And then tonight we are going rollerskating with some Homeschoolers. It is going to be a very busy Friday. But, I am glad that we are getting out and about and meeting some new people. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Friday and weekend. To all of you in blog land, keep up with the great blogs.
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I am in Christ!

2008-02-14T07:22:00.005-06:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

Have a great day full of love and kindness

I got up this morning and took Jeff to work. On my way back into town I was praying to the Lord. During my time with the Father, I realized that Jesus gave us the ultimate Valentine's gift. He could of gave us love, peace, joy etc. But He gave His life for us, the ultimate gift. I do not think anything will amount to what He did for me. Oh, I am grateful for the gifts, but in my mind I will be praising God for the ultimate gift. I thought I would share that little revelation. But, I would like to share with you some things that I have held on to and they really hit my heart. They are like reminders of who I am in Christ. If you have ever read the book, "Bondage Breaker", these are in there. So, here are some to ponder on today. I love all of you and I hope you are showered with love today.

The I Am's in Christ:

I am God's child
John 1:12

I am Jesus' chosen friend
John 15:5

I have been bought with a price. I belong to God
1 Cor 6:19,20

I am a member of Christ's body, part of His Family.
1 Cor 12:27

I am a saint, a holy one
Eph 1:1

I have been adopted as God's child
Eph 1:5

I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit
Eph 2:18

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Col 1:14

I am complete in Christ
Col 2:10

These are freedoms you have with Christ:

I am free forever from condemnation
Romans 8:1,2

I am assured that all things work together for good. Romans 8:28

I am free from any condemning charges against me. Romans 8:31-34

I cannot be separated from the Love of God.
Romans 8:35-39

I have been established, anointed and sealed by God
2 Cor 1:21,22

I am confident that hte good work God has begun in me will be perfected. Phil 1:6

I have more, but I do not want to overwhelm all of you. I also would like you to just ponder on the ones here and realize how special you are in Christ.

"I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:13

How is your heart today?

2008-02-13T08:15:00.007-06:00

glitter-graphics.com

I have been reading this book called Captivating. This morning as I sat in front of it working on the workbook, it came to my attention that my heart is full of stuff. Not just happy stuff either, stuff that I have been holding on to for years. As a little girl you want so much for your father and mother to protect you and guide you towards your adult years. I am sure that my parents loved me, but they were so consumed with the world and a life lived on this earth to really notice that they had kids. And of course, now that I am an adult, I have to remember that maybe my parents came from broken homes and they were raising us the only way they knew how. And I do not harbor resentment towards my parents, God has helped me forgive my parents and fall in love with who they are. I just had other things that I did not let go, it is like getting your favorite toy and you sleep with it and take it every where you go. It is the same with the heart full of stuff, if you do not let God in and let it go, you will carry it with you every where you go. It will brick up and cause you to have issues with God, and even not want to except Him. The biggest stuff that I realized that I was holding on to was, God pursued me when I was in High School. I would not let Him get his hands on me, I did not want to change my life and become "a Jesus Freak." But for some reason, I realized that this was remorse for my heart and I carried it. I do not want to look at this and then become full of guilt or shame, I want to let it go and realize I am a Jesus Freak now. I am encouraged by the way the author of this book took us to Isaiah 61, you have to read it. But this is what she translated it to be.

"God has sent me on a mission.
I have some great news for you.
God has sent me to restore and release something.
And that something is you.
I am here to give you back y our heart and set you free.
I am furious at the Enemy who did this to you, and I will fight against him.
Let me comfort you.
For, dear one, I will bestow beauty upon you.
Where you have known only devastation.
Joy, in the places of your deep sorrow,
And I will robe your heart in thankful praise
in exchange for your resignation and despair."

Sisters, God will fight for us. All we have to do is go to Him and ask Him to do this. Do not be afraid for change, the change is for the good and not the bad. It will free you to do the work God has for you. So, go to Him and lift up your heart. If you do not know what things are on your heart to get rid of, pray about it. God will show you. Love all of you and have a great day, because I am.

Every breath you take

2008-02-12T19:40:00.000-06:00

Girly Comments & Graphics

Today felt like Monday. I tried to spend time working on Science with the kids and I was really excitted to start this new program. But for some reason, there was so much distractions. I left for the pregnancy center a little frustrated. When I got to the center it seemed alittle busy for me. But, when I came home and I read all the blogs that I so adore, I realized something. Well actually a couple of things, one is that God has each one of us going into different directions. Because of this, we enhance each other. I see view points that are encouraging or I leave thinking about. It helps me to realize that each thought is like a breath. With out all the inhale or exhale we would die, but when all these ideas come together you have a living breathing idea of what God has in store for our life. It is like life itself, a life lived without Jesus is death, A life with Jesus is life. Jesus is our only hope for survival to live in this fallen world. I love all the ways you all share your heart, it gives me hope, guidance, life. If you ever wonder if your blogs touch someone, I will tell you that they do. The scriptures that you share, the events, the heart, it is every breath that you take, it is your lives. Lives shared with others who seek and want closeness with a savior who gave His life for ours. How awesome. Keep up the good work, you all are doing the will of God, sharing your hearts. love all of you forever, from Tanya

Our duty as Christians

2008-02-10T16:14:00.000-06:00

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16: 15-18

I look at this verse and sometimes, I get alittle fearful about sharing my faith with people who are lost. I guess, I am reminded about Colombus, all the navigators stopped at certain points of the ocean, for fear of falling off the edge of the earth. Colombus sailed right through and proved that the earth is round. So, I asked you are you proving that their is a savior? We have a gift, that the lost do not have. We are going to heaven, we have eternal life. It is our job as christians to seek out the lost. I sat listening to the minister this morning and I felt a little sad. I have not gotten myself with women who are seperated from God. I love women who love the Lord, I think I get to comfortable here. I am holding on to a key that can save someone and I am not sharing it with them. It is time for me to come out of my comfort zone and I need to be in prayer. There is a new word I have seen on the net, "p.u.s.h"- "pray until something happens." I believe it is time for me to do just that. How can I further your kingdom Lord, who do you need me to be available too? I have to be honest, I have brought people to the Lord, but in the last couple of years, I have gotten laxed in this area. My heart was set on fire this morning and I do not want to be selfish. I want to share and I need to reach out more. I was told to do this by the Lord, I intent to see it through.

Christian Glitter by

Dearest Lord Jesus, I come to you in prayer right now. Please show me people who need to come to you. Use me as an instrument and help me to listen to the words that you fill my heart to share. Place pride and rebellion away from me, and fill me with humbleness and love. Jesus, I never want to be comfortable, the moment that I slip in that mode, stop me and show me your will. I stand on your word and I look to you for all my directions. Let your word be planted in my heart, mind and soul and cultivate change in me and harvest it up to use for the lost. I love you with all my heart, soul and mind. I am ready. Amen

Women of Faith

2008-02-09T07:15:00.001-06:00

Women of faith

So a couple of months ago, my friend Heather @standing at the crossroads, asked me to consider going to Women of Faith. Now, I have not been to women of faith for sometime. I can not even tell you when. So, I told her I would pray about it and then I would let her know. Well, I prayed about it and then I forgot about it. So, yesterday I get a call from another friend, who just moved to Texas and she told me that she was going to women of faith. I asked her if she had been planning this for a long time and she said no. She just felt this pull about a week ago. So, I started thinking about this, and the weird part is Jeff is off the weekend that the confrence is in town and I can get a ticket. So, I am going to women of faith. I am not sure what God wants to tell me, but I am sure that he is going to talk to me about something. Oh do not get me wrong, God talks to me all the time through His word. But there is something awesome about when I go to women of faith. He uses those women to touch me in an awesome way. I am telling you, you may not even know these women, but our hearts are connected. If you ever get a chance to go to women of faith, do it. It will change your heart and you will walk out of the confrence different then you walked in. If you would like to read about my friend from Texas, her name is Lori and I have her listed with my blog sisters. Love ya all, and have a great weekend.

Jesus loves the little children

2008-02-08T08:33:00.001-06:00

Jesus loves you so much, love Him back. Love, Tanya

Special

2008-02-08T07:52:00.000-06:00

I recently bought the kids a new Science program. Yesterday I was reading up on the first chapter. The Author of the program is having the kids memorize scripture. The first scripture is Genesis 1:1 " In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the earth." As I read on, the author points out the fact that their are several planets in our space, solor system and galaxies. But she points out that God in his word only names the earth. She proceeds to talk about how much God loves this planet and that we must be more special than any other planets, because we are named specifically. I was really touched by this. We are so special that we were named. I mean it could of said Mercury, Venus, Pluto or even Mars. But it says earth. This became so personnal to me, that I started thinking of God in a whole new way. I was reminded last night of my thoughts and feelings about God. A couple of years ago, my mother passed away very suddenly. I had to go back to Spokane, WA to help my sister with all the arrangements. During this time I became really angry towards my mother, because we really did not have a great relationship. When I came home, I was so angry and it was spilling into my other relationships. So, I seeked counciling, as I was sitting across from the councilor, I was telling her my attitude towards my mother. She hit me with this question, "How do you view God?" I sat looking at her, what does this have to do with how I am feeling. So, I shrugged my shoulders and said I do not know. She said that it makes a difference on how we view life, to how we view our Lord. So she tells me that I was so important that when I was created in my mothers womb, Jesus was holding me and cradling me. She said to me, when you were born, who caught you. I replied with,"the Doctors." She smiled and said, yes in the physical, but in reality, Jesus is the one who caught you. And then she proceeded to tell me as I grew outside the womb, Jesus was with me through my growth and when I took my first steps, Jesus held my hands so I could walk to my parents. My councilor said that I was so special, Jesus created me for who I am today and He has plans for me, plans to prosper me, Jeremiah 29:11. I am special, for I am Jesus' princess and he loves me so much. I look at Jesus as my mother, the one who nurtures me and holds me when I am down. Who disciplines me when I am not following his word and who adores me for loving Him. I know it sounds strange, but I feel that He was my first and ultimate love and He deserves my heart and my love. So, tell me how special do you feel when it comes to the Lord? How do you view Him and why. It will change your whole outlook about Him.

Award

2008-02-07T07:39:00.001-06:00

This morning a really blessed friend, Susan at joyful mom 6 gave me this award. Sometimes I sit in front of this computer and type out something and think, will people get this, will this help anyone? And then I come back to the blog and see the comments and realize I am not the only one who felt that way. It warms my heart and then it gives me hope that we are marching in the same army, the army of the Lord's. So, with this I would like to pass this on to other wise bloggers who have touched my heart. Robin at Bittersweetpunkin, Kathi at feathering my nest, and Darla at overcomer. I have enjoyed reading your blogs and they have touched my heart. And to those that Susan sent the award to, Heather, Nana C and Allison, I have really love reading your blogs also. It is so awesome that as women we may never meet, but our hearts are always connected, Thanks Susan for the award, and I love ya.

This is really Good

2008-02-07T00:17:00.000-06:00

This was on a fellow bloggers site and I loved it so much. I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you Robin from Bittersweetpunkin.

Great Movie!

2008-02-07T00:04:00.001-06:00

You have to watch this movie. Jeff and I rented it from Netflix and it really made me think. It is about this women who is a lawyer and she is invited to have dinner with Jesus. It is a great tool for those people in your life who have some really hard questions that you can not answer for them. It made me really thank the Lord for what he did for me and I seeked forgiveness and renewel with Jesus through this movie. You have to watch it, it is amazing. God bless all of you and have a great day.
This is a small clip of the movie. I hope that you enjoy this.
Make sure that you turn off the music to view this.

Faith

2008-02-06T07:01:00.000-06:00

I want to share with you about my faith. I remember as a teenager I put alot of faith in friends, money, situations. I grew up in a home where we went to church every Sunday. The people in our church was like family to me. But, when I graduated High School, I rushed off to the Army. I wanted to escape my parents. When I was in the Army, I faith only in myself. I believed at the time the only reason I made it through the Army was my anger. When I left the Army my faith was my husband and new child, and for many years this is what I believed. I was misreable, I even thought of leaving and running to another adventure that may of brought me more faith and refreshment. At the age of 27 I walked into this church and my whole view point of faith changed. I excepted the only faith we need and that is Jesus Christ. Through this adventure of faith, God gave me wonderful councelors to heal wounds, he changed my heart from a career orinted mom to a stay at home mom. He changed us to become homeschool parents. He helped me become close to my dad and stepmom and to forgive my mother. He helped me to fall in love with my son, and stop these power struggles I was doing. He helped me to fall in love with Jeff, and look at him as my husband and not my savior. He gave me wonderful girlfriends in and out of my life, who have shown me alot that God can use me in. And my thinking of God is always and formost special and I know so much about Him and I want to know more. So He can utilize me to further His Kingdom and bring more people to Him. It had to start small, like a mustard seed, and now it is big. Faith is wonderful, it gives me hope to carry on a legacy for my Lord, one that will follow in my children and my children's children. I am so excited for the life God has given me and the events that will keep coming.

Father, thank you for never giving up on me. And thank you for all the people who have graced my life and made me stronger. Thank for your word and the growth that I have had through it. I love you and I will willing follow you and be your servent. Amen.

Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.com

Your Tagged!

2008-02-05T07:12:00.000-06:00

I went on a friends blog this morning and she had gotten tagged. So instead of tagging anyone she just stated that if you read this entry you are tagged. So here it goes.

1. Pick up the book closest to you. (at least 123 pages)

2. Turn to page 123.

3. Go down 5 sentences.

4. Write out the next 3.

5 Tag 5 people.

Captivating
"But we've often wondered what the "one thing" was that was needed. Some of you might have heard teaching that it was one simple casserole dish, that Martha was busy making a complicated mealwhen only one simple food was needed. No. That is not what Jesus is saying."

So if you are reading this, concider yourself tagged!

I am up and ready?

2008-02-05T06:41:00.001-06:00

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God's Promise to us.

I am back. Luke is feeling better and Jeff is back to work. I am feeling alot better today. I have to share this with all of you, it just touched my heart. I was taking Jeff to work yesterday and on the way back the announcer on the radio station was receiving letters from couples who wrote their second wedding vows. Well, this women wrote in, her name was Susan and she was making vows for her and her husband, but the situation was, her husband had died in 2003. But what she wrote to him was absolutly beautiful. I teared up and so did the announcer. And then, I started to think about it, do I show that kind of love to my husband now? I mean, I do not want to wait until he is dead or something to show him in actions that I love him. Frankly, it made me feel really guilty, because I have been so hard on Jeff lately. Life is so short, isn't it, and I had better do the will of God in my own family and circle of friends. So, let us remember the people God, puts in our life today and thank Him for them. I also, believe we should be asking God how to further His kingdom through our loved ones. God bless all of you and I am so glad that I am back.

Under the Weather

2008-02-02T10:20:00.001-06:00

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I am alittle under the weather to day. And our son is really under the weather. So, I am not going to blog today. I will resume blogging on Monday. God bless all of you blog friends. Tanya

You have to read this book!

2008-02-01T09:51:00.000-06:00

You have to read this book. It is so amazing. I have learned so much about the emptiness that I have felt for years. I really have to push this book. If you are hurting in any way, or you want to reach your soul, this book is for you. What I really like is not only did Stasi write this book, but John shares the men's perspective of women. At first, I was not to impressed with the book, because Stasi goes through all this romance and heirism. But as you keep reading it is like God has given her the words to touch our hearts. And not in the feel good kind of way, but in healing and learning about our hearts. It has given me more hope in getting closure to the Lord. So gals, call your girlfriends and start a group. One suggestion, make sure that you cover your group with prayer and that you really encourage each other with positive re enforcement. And do not let any of your sister sit in a negative attitude, positive and praise will grow you more then negative. I love all of you and I am really excited to see what happens with all of you this year. WE ARE GOING TO OVERCOME THE DEVIL!!!!!!

Christian Glitter by

Prayfully Careful

2008-02-01T01:49:00.001-06:00

I have to share something with all of you. For some reason, as I have been in the word, my eyes have been so opened to the World. I have found that I am getting to be more sensitive towards in justice. For instance, I was in a heated discussion tonight about people who are so quick to judge and will not take the time to look at facts about the person and pray for God's direction. God said in his word that we are not to judge. That judgement is His, I realize that we are suppose to be accountable to each other, but I really believe we should give people a chance. How are we going to bring the lost to Jesus, if we spend so much time judging that lost person. Jesus sat with prostitudes and tax collectors. What are we doing I wonder? Are we making ourselves availble or are we sitting and judging the lost person? I am not upset with anyone, really I am sad. I found myself tearing up and alittle upset with my self for being judgmental. Sisters and any brothers reading this, I beg of you, pray for the Lord to soften your heart and lets get those lost people in the door of churches and loving our Lord. I have been so burdened for this world, I am not sure why. I am wondering if this is what Paul and Peter felt? I love all of you and I just wanted to share what was on my heart. God bless all of you.

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Revelation from God

2008-01-31T09:02:00.001-06:00

I have decieded to spend some time with the Lord every morning. This morning I sat down with my bible and some books I am reading. I read my normal chapters and then I went to 1 Timothy, it was suggested to me to look over the book of Timothy to use for training councelors at the center. So, I am reading in Timothy and I come across this verse.
"Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith , in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

I looked at this scripture for sometime and even asked the Lord to explain it to me. This is what was said, Be in the word and let all of your happenings in the day be an example of what a believer needs to be. In my conversations, in love(charity in KJV, means love), in my spirit within me and my faith, also the way I present myself to others. If you had a really bad day and you walked into a room full of non believers, how would you carry yourself. Would come across as calm, angry, verbally rude? I guess we have to remember in all of our happenings in the day, we are watched by others. This is really a good reminder of our daily walk with the Lord. I love that scripture in Joshua 1:8 that talks about meditating on the word day and night. This is true. So, I challenge you and me, to look at the way we carry ourselves. And remeber it is not just out in the community, how about our children, husbands and friends? God bless all of you today.

Love

2008-01-30T09:11:00.000-06:00

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I love all of you and I hope that you all have a wonderful day!

I got tagged again!

2008-01-30T08:44:00.002-06:00

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Well my friend Susan at mom of 6 tagged me. The only promblem is that Susan and I have the same blog buddies. So I am only going to be able to tag two other people. First off you need to post the rules.
So here are the rules:

1> You must post the rules on your post before you answer the questions.

2> You need to list one fact about yourself using each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name yse your maiden name instead.

3> When you are finished with your answers you tag on person for each letter of your name.
So here we go:

M-My parents named me after a checker at a grocery store.
A- I am Astonished by the way the Lord has blessed us.
R- Jesus is my Redemmer
I- I am Intrigide at how my life has turned out, not my plans, but God's
A- I will Always follow the Lord, with all my heart.

So, now I will tag Jeff at stuff, and Robin at Bittersweetpunkin.
I guess I need to get more blogger buddies.

Being Negative

2008-01-29T09:41:00.001-06:00

I have to share with you something that is so damaging, it can destroy your life, keep you in depression and make other people not want to be with you. And that is what you say, in the bible, God spoke and the creation of the world began. How positive is that, the bible also states "That your words are life or death." I am just concerned by the words that come out of peoples mouth. I guess I never realized it about ten years ago, since I was so negative that I know people stopped hanging with me because of it. But, I see it now. Oh sisters, you are stopping life from happening for you because of your negative tongues. Capture the joy, peace, patiences and love for life by changing your tongue language. It is really important that your ears and ears of others hear encouragement, love and joy speak from your mouths, it does effect others. So, I challenge you this week, ask the Lord to open your ears to what you say and ask how does it effect other? You may be surprised. Love all of you and I will talk more later.

A New Journey

2008-01-28T17:06:00.000-06:00

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Jeff had a doctor appointment with the surgent who did the surgury. Well doctor told him, he needed to go back to work. So as of Wednesday Jeff will go back to work on day shift. I am sad, because in the last couple of weeks Jeff and I have gotten closure. And I am glad, because he needs to work and get himself up. I am so glad, please keep him in your prayers.

As I look at the last couple of weeks, I am so grateful that the Lord worked in our hearts and our faith became stronger with the Lord. He is the Father of Provisions and healing. I have gotten closure to Him and I am ready for the rest of the year. Philippians4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice."

Good Morning Greeting

2008-01-25T22:41:00.000-06:00

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