im back!!!

i have not been able to blog for the past week. i got a bad virus on my computer. but i took it in to the shop and its all better! not much has changed here in the last week. hubby put my garden frame up. im very excited about that. we are not quite done with it yet. but i will blog and post the pictures soon!
we were supposed to start our adoption training classes this week but we will have to wait until next month now. we have to get some more paperwork in order for our application before they finish processing it. i was a bit bummed about that. but still moving ahead. thank you to everyone that is supporting our fundraiser and praying for us!

since fridays are my update day i just want to remind everyone about my fundraiser going on. my friend anna is hosting a fundraiser for me using her business SewSewSewYourBoat. her link is on the side on my blog. from what i hear things are going so well! im very excited. and again big thank you to anna from the van clan :) this month we will also be starting our adoption prep classes. looking foward to that. and looking foward to getting the ball rolling.

treasures

every once in awhile i find some hidden treasure that just makes my day. i am not a pirate but i get very excited when i happen to stumble upon something that seems so perfect for our family. well at least it is exciting to me. as a homeschooling mom i get very excited to find something i can add to the childrens learning. this past week a friend of mine posted a link called puritans pick. the caption read " like netflix for christians". the word puritan had my attention from the start but after reading the caption i had to find out what this was! the site is just what it says "like netflix for christians". there is a wide variety of films on the site. they range from cartoons that teach bible accounts, books made into movies, documentaries about conservative christian topics, life stories of church fathers and missionaries, and many videos about church history and debates. do you see now why this homeschooling mom is very excited. and every movie is screened and filtered through there very conservative values. another caption read that the movies were so wholesome that " the puritans could watch them". the packages range depending on how many movies you can rent a month and how many you can hold to at a time. but they are very low cost. as we speak i am waiting for my first video to arrive in the mail! i cant wait!!

blessed

i know on tuesdays i usually write about how we can encourage our husbands. but after the past 3 days i must say my husband really went out of his way to bless me! he had a 3 day weekend for new years and i loved just having him home. but i was so blessed by all the help he gave me around the house. keeping the children busy while i finished up some major cleaning projects was so helpful. helping me with houseold chores was a bonus. but the icing on the cake was when he cleaned out the van ( with some little helpers). i am truelly blessed with such an amazing man. and this greatly encourages me when he goes back to work. it helps me to not dread the day he goes back to work so much. i miss him so much but i want to work hard for the man that works so hard for me. i hope he is having a great day back at work and isnt too worn out from his "vacation" ;)

becoming a homebody

i have learned something i never knew about myself over the last couple of weeks. i kind of like being a homebody. of course i have always loved being a stay home mom ( there are trying days i wonder why though) but these last couple of weeks have been unusually mellow around here. i have been able to accomplish muc needed cleaning around the house. i love walking into a house smelling like bleach ;) i have been able to do things with my children i dont normally do. for example play board games and watch movies. my favorite part has been not rushing to get things done. because im an ocd personality i need to have my house in order before i leave. so that means getting up early and rushing through my chores before we go out for the day. i have very much enjoyed not rushing! i think the childrens favorite part has been staying in their jammies all day! something we have been doing in the evenings before dinner is read through the bible as a family but being home has allowed me to add reading through the proverbs with the children before breakfast. i know that soon we will have to get back to reality but i must admit this has shown me that i need to add more home into my stay at home mothering and we need to add more home to our homeschooling.

fundraiser

well im very excited to talk about my new fundraiser! a dear friend contacted me yesterday and asked if she could set up a fundraiser for us. she owns her own business called sew sew sew your boat. she makes a wide variety of items like skirts, burp cloths and other baby items. i was so excited and felt extremely blessed to have a friend with a heart for adoption and a heart for our family. thank you anna!!! so many people are already interested. so for the month of january 50% of sales will go to our fund. and as always you can go to our donate button on the side of my blog and donate. thank you to everyone that is supporting us and to everyone for your prayers! i will be attaching a link to annas business on the side of my blog.

rewind

normally wednesdays are my homeschooling encouragement day. but since we are on a nice long break i do not have much to talk about in this area. except how great it is to have a break! and i have skipped a few days/topics over our busy weekend. so im going to rewind and give a family update today. christmas weekend has come and gone once again. it was a blur. we had our family time on christmas eve. the children woke up early and we opened presents. i love their giving spirits. they were so excited to pass out their presents they bought or made for each other. and it blessed my heart to see them all working so hard to make presents for each other. that evening we spent time with family, having dinner and opening gifts.
christmas day was on a sunday this year. we went to church in the morning. and it was a wonderful service. my favorite part was having all of the children in the service with us. this is something that has been on my heart for awhile now. bringing our family to worship and learn Gods word together. after church we took the children to visit a care home. i loved seeing my children open up and get over their shyness. when we went for thanksgiving they were very shy and reserved. but this time they were very outgoing and couldnt wait to pass out cookies to anyone who came into the hall. a few of the children played some christmas songs on the piano and guitar. im looking foward to watching my children open up even more and bless these elderly people.
christmas evening was spent with more family. it was a nice weekend. having daddy home for 3 days was the icing on the cake. i am very much looking foward to new years weekend and another long 3 day weekend with daddy!