"A Godly Man......

....preferreth grace before goods, and wisdom before the world." ~Richard Bernard

We still did schooling yesterday on Thanksgiving. We had the time in the morning...and it was nice because Chris was home from work and was able to see how our school time goes! He spent time with Xavier, talking about numbers and such. But to me....it wasn't just about the learning...it was seeing Chris take the time to work with X....and X totally soaking it up! It was so sweet to watch!
Jaxson did some coloring....

And below is Madelyn illustrating in her bible notebook....


To end our school day...Madelyn and I worked together to make favors for the Thanksgiving table. We made hand turkeys and Madelyn cut out and glued colored feathers (cut paper) onto them and made beaks and eyes and then wrote the names on them! I think she did a great job!



We had a really nice Thanksgiving meal at my mom's....and later in the evening we had desserts at my aunt's house. It was a great day of Thanksgiving. As I ate, I thought of those who don't have the blessings of food to eat like we do. It's such a sad thought...but true. It's kinda embarrassing to get overly stuffed when eating a Thanksgiving meal...knowing there are people who have nothing. This will be something I pray about alot and see in what ways I can help those with less.

1 John 3:17-19 But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him ? Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God's side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord.

I hope you all had a really nice Thanksgiving time with your families and wish you a wonderful weekend! Before I go...I just wanted to share the scarf I had been knitting....I finished it and took a pic to show you all! Happy Friday! :o)

Family Game Night

Oh what a fun evening we had yesterday! X got to go to grammie's (aka: my mom) for a sleepover. So after supper, Chris, Madelyn, Jaxson and I decided to get out a game of Monopoly Jr. that some friends had previously given us. This was the first time we played it and it was a lot of fun!

(Yes, Madelyn is wearing a Hanna Montana shirt. No, I am NOT a fan of Hannah Montana...and the kids aren't even allowed to watch it....however, the shirt was a gift from one of her friends for her birthday this past summer....so I let her wear it.)

Jaxson and daddy were a "team" and Jaxson was such a good helper!

We started playing around 7pm...and didn't finish till 9!!! The time just flew by! We laughed and had a ton of fun! We were going to end the game around 8 so the kids could get to bed...but we all just kept taking "one more turn"...and ended up finishing it!

Jaxson was definitely ready for bed when the game was over....

Ruthie was too...hehe....

Thanks so much for stopping by! I love getting your comments! I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving and remember all the things God has blessed each of us with...and give thanks! xoxo

Musical Spoons!

At dinner the other night, somehow we got to talking about making music with spoons...and the kids thought this was just fantastic! They wanted to learn how to do it...so we got out some spoons and tried to show them! It was pretty funny!



I love how the simplest things can amuse children (and myself!)!

Jaxson..."cooking" with some tupperware.....

And isn't this too cute? Madelyn has a new binder with paper in it that she didn't want the boys to get into...so she wrote..."My Book Belongs To Myself" on it....hehe! .......

And oh the frustration...we had Thanksgiving supper with Chris's side of the family last night. I made bread to take...I did everything JUST like the instructions say...and STILL my bread ends up looking like bricks. I just don't know how to get it nice and soft bread! I keep practicing..and it keeps ending up like this.....

Welp, off I go to begin another day! :) Lots to do. With this week being Thanksgiving and such...I may or may not be on much this week. It just depends! I am so so glad you stopped by! If I don't post again in the next few days....I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! xoxo

And don't forget the REAL reason for Thanksgiving!!!

Giving From The Heart

Have you ever heard of Samaritan's Purse...or Operation Christmas Child? It is a wonderful outreach that gives joy and shows love to others through cheerful giving! People pack shoeboxes for certain age groups for boys and girls. Then the gifts are shipped all over the world to children who have nothing! It is such a wonderful outreach! Here is a list of FAQs!

Our church is one of the drop off centers in our area. I volunteered a couple nights to "man the collection center". The first night I went...I had my kiddos with me...Oh the chaos! LOL Then I was there again last night...and it was peaceful and super quiet (almost too quiet!).

I think it is soo exciting that kids all over the world will open their shoeboxes and I wish I could be there when they do. We have seen video of when the kids open them...and it is soooo neat and humbling to watch them open their boxes with such excitement! While they get their boxes...they also learn about Jesus, love, giving and care! :)

Here are some pics of our collection so far....remember...each of these big boxes holds between 10-15 or so, shoeboxes!!!




Now imagine....this amount times ALL the locations across the US that collect them!!! Isn't that soo exciting?? And then they get taken to the BIG collection center to get ready to ship to the kids! :) If you are interested in volunteering next year or some other time....you can take a look at it HERE.

I took a couple pics of what the weather was doing while I was there. It was snowing like crazy! :)

And while I waited for people/churches to bring their shoeboxes...I worked on my knitting! :)

It is such a wonderful cause. You can really spread the love of Jesus and do some cheerful giving to children who will truly appreciate it by packing a shoebox! It is a truly wonderful thing to be part of!!! Hope you all have a great weekend! xoxo

Corners of My Home and More!

While Jaxson napped this afternoon...Madelyn and X wanted to go out to play in the snow....after lots of begging and pleading, I finally agreed so they bundled up and out they went to play! :) Aren't the flurries in the pics so pretty? And below...a pic of Jaxson just after he woke up from his nap!

Below are some corners of my home that I wanted to share...just for fun. I know I always love seeing people's homes. So these are pics of my simple, humble, cozy home that I love....(I did NO fancy cleaning prior to taking these pics....these are what these areas would look like if you walked right in my house at this moment!).....

(Can you tell I love my dining room? I took lots of pics of that room's corners..hehe!)


After coming in to warm up....the kids all found ways to play in warmer and cozier ways! Madelyn worked on making some fun jewelry with a kit she bought....

And the boys played with blocks and cars...of course...hehe!


I have a roast cooking away in the oven...it will make a wonderful and filling meal come dinner time! Mashed potatoes and yummy corn that was frozen from the garden will make the meal complete! My tastebuds are watering! :o) I have been working on my knitting when I have free time. It is coming along well and I will be sure to show pics as I finish things!

Thank you so much for visiting some corners of my home with me! I hope today finds you well. xoxo

Have you heard of.....

Joni Eareckson Tada?


My goodness...she is a woman of God and a very talented painter and author! She is such an inspirational woman! She was paralyzed during a diving incident in 1967. She became a quadriplegic from that accident. Her faith saw her through all that and she began a ministry through a radio show, her books and paintings. If you want to go to her site....click HERE. If you want to know some more facts about her, her life, her husband, and her ministry...click HERE. She paints by holding the paintbrush in her mouth!!! What amazing abilities she has!
I absolutely LOVE this quote by her:

"Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves."
~Joni Eareckson Tada

Each time I feel I can't do something or feel like it will be too difficult...I will think of Joni. What a wonderful example she is to each of us women! She encourages people to "rise above their limitations"! I absolutely love that and find her truly inspiring!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I apologize to everyone whose blogs I haven't been visiting much. I just don't always have the time to read them all. I do try to come around when I can! I do hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Thursday and I really appreciate your words in the comments!!! xoxo

Busy Busy Bee!!!!

Lots and lots to do today....already did schooling and was working on more organizing of my schooling stuff. I wanted to get things perfectly set right for Mad's portfolio....so I was doing some organizing. Ack...ya know...I organize...then still don't ever feel "organized enough"....is that weird? Do you other homeschoolers feel that way?

Anyhoo....not much time to chat....like I said before....lots and lots to do...

"Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!"
~Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

However...I was reading in Proverbs this morning during some quiet time and came across a few verses that I just loved. I actually love ALL of Proverbs....such wonderful wisdom and words in that book of the Bible to be learned! But I wanted to share a couple with you for thought and inspiration!

He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. ~Prov. 16:20

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
~Prov. 16:24

Those two verses just seemed so cheerful and sweet to me...and sometimes you just need to hear cheerfulness and encouragement! At least I know I do!!! You wanna know what these verses scream to me?? They say~Heed the Word of God, Trust in Him, and speak uplifting and encouraging words....and happiness is inevitable! How simple, don't you think?

And...I really must be going...but just had to leave you with this quote from Alice in Wonderland...made by the Doorknob.....

"Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction."

A simply crazy sentence that is so true. Read the Bible and you will live and be going in the right direction! Hehe!
Have a great day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!!! xoxo

(oh..and not that it matters one bit...but I just wanted to say that the bag I showed in my previous post, I decided to use as a church bag to carry my bible and notebooks etc....it doesn't have a closure at the top...and I could just see me dropping it with all my purse stuff in it and everything going FLYING! LOL... ACKKKK!!! So it will be my church bag!!!)

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

....well...not really in our neighborhood...actually...it is COLD here in PA! But...I needed to start my blog out with that little saying because I had to get ready for an introduction....to my own little Mr. Rogers!!!


My kids love to watch Mr. Roger's neighborhood. I really like it too...it's sweet, educational and fun! Well...this morning....Xavier comes down and was so excited! I was just getting dressed after my shower and he knocks on the bathroom door...wanting me to guess who he was. I peeked out the door and he had this HUGE smile on his face...and without waiting for me to answer...he says "I am Mr. Rogers!"....He had put on one of his sweaters that has a zipper and thought of that himself. It was soooo precious not to take a picture! :)

Below is a picture of my church bag. I actually bought this bag to help donate toward a group who was going to a mission trip to Israel....a couple years ago (before Jaxson!). Well...I decided to pull it out and made up a page with my families pictures on it...even one of the GIRLS is on there! :) I just love it and wanted to share it with you!

And last, but not least...a couple pictures of Madelyn today...after schooling...she played some games on the computer. That computer was one my mom gave to us just so the kids could play some educational games on it. It isn't hooked up to the internet or anything...just has some fun games for them!

I am fighting a bit of a headache today....I am looking forward to Chris coming home from work in a couple hours. I hope you all are having a good Tuesday! Thanks for coming by! xoxo

Knitting Progress and Finishes!

So, I have been knitting...and I truly enjoy it! So far, I have just been making scarves and dish cloths. Above is the basic dishcloth pattern. In the picture below...I did a pattern made up by Deb at Homespun Living. It is a waffle knit pattern! HERE is the link to her tutorial! I really love the look of it although, it does take me a bit longer to knit than the basic dishcloth does! :) You do knitting and purling in it. I like knitting better than purling...but using the two together at times does make a really beautiful pattern!

And here is my knitting progress so far on another dishcloth! .....

Over time, I hope to learn how to knit more things, like hats and socks and slippers and such! I am just taking it one step at a time! :) I really really enjoy it! :)

Today we have snow and freezing temps! Brrrr! I was hoping to be able to stay in our warm cozy home...but unfortunately I have to run a few errands today. Oh well....I will look forward to coming home to a warm and cozy house when I am done! :) Hope you all have a wonderful Monday! Thanks for coming by! xoxo