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Hopping to It: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Reusing-reorganizing

My kids love Clementines! When I buy the from Kroger's they come in these cute little creates. What to do with them? Well I also wanted to better organize my baking area...my measuring cups fall all the time on me. So this worked great!!






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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

On the Third Day of Advent

On the third day of Advent we listened to lots and lots of Christmas music! And I did some Christmas shopping. Robby built his annual Lego Manger scene.



I am also trying to do some one on one time with each kid. Today was Isaiah time. Yesterday I spent with AnQuenette.


And as I was cleaning I found this activity book!! Wahoo...I always found it after Christmas!! So I look forward to going through it!





Our night time book was this little one. I don't remember where I got it from!



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Lego Manger 2011

This has become some what a yearly tradition for Robby! This year he wanted to know what the gifts looked liked that the wise men brought. So we did some research and found nice pictures and he searched through his Legos for the right pieces.



















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Monday, November 28, 2011

Advent Ideas for Teens and Adults

Ok, lets grant it, most of the cool ideas I find are in favor of little kids.  I like them, cause I am a kid at heart, and a homeschooler mom, and a DCE, and well they are fun.  But I also know as kids get older, move into the "teen years" (music in the back ground) things change.  I know that even for adults it is harder to find that time to do devotions, that extra time to get our hearts ready.  Yet, yes wait for it, here it comes, we can sit and play angry birds, or farmville, check our facebook, play Word with Friends.  Watch TV mindlessly for hours or mess around on the computer.  So really finding the time should not be a hard thing to do.  Then why is it?  (Yes I was speaking to me, but if I spoke to you also, listen-I may have more advice!)
Are we afraid of what we may find if we spend that time with ourselves and God getting ready?  Is there something that we are hiding from?  Some excuse aways sitting in front of us?  Sigh....it is time!  It is time to look at our hearts and prepare for Christmas.  I mean beyond wrapping paper and cards....you get my point?  I am not talking hours, but minutes.  Stop texting.  Yes you.  For just a moment.  And check out these sites to help teens and adults get ready for Christmas!  Great also to do as a couple, family, with friends, on facebook, texting, blogging......

Lutheran Hour's always has good devotions!
Lutheran' Witness a fun article on Advent
Preparing for Jesus an amazing devotional by Water Wangerin Jr.   He recreates the story around the birth.  Worth reading!

Well I know it is not much, but something to think about!  Share with me you thoughts or resources!   I already have some thoughts for next year!



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On the Second Day of Advent

On the Second Day of Advent we gathered all the Christmas books around the house.




There are still many more.

I found this web site with ABC's of Advent. It has cute ideas for the young ones. Hard for the old ones.
Today was A's-Angels.




We talked about the different Angles in the Christmas stories.
Then we read the book "From Heaven Above" from CPH.  It was from a Children's Christmas program a few years ago!




And that was our Advent for today.

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Kroger meat finds!

I decided to do mostly soups this advent. So I went to the store to get stuff for chicken noodle and chili. But I found some great manger specials. And have two crock pots going with chicken noodle and chili.

Ground beef...bought two trays fried it up, split it into four, one for chili.







Chicken was also on sale manger special. So going to make two batches of chicken noodle soup.




Also rib-eyes 50% off and a beef roast. Froze those.

So for $42 I got 9 meals under$5 each!


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Sunday, November 27, 2011

On the first day of Advent

On the first day of Advent we drove in the car at least 11 hours in a steady heavy rain. We listened to Christmas music while the kids watched their movies, talked on the phone or drew. So not much was done for Advent but get out our one Advent calendar which really won't start till Thursday. We talked a little about what Advent is and some of the things we are going to do. We set up the one calendar and I sent them off too bed.




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Friday, November 25, 2011

Before and After Dinning Room

Well it is not done done.  I still have not hung up pictures or curtains, but this is a good picture of before and after.  

  

















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Buttons and Cute Sewing Ideas

I have this one blog that I found a few months ago call The Happy Housewife.  I love it cause it has great breakfast ideas, homeschooling ideas, and lots of other great things!  She has been doing a 100 handmade gifts ideas.  Many I love and think I may try.
But I have also learned how to add buttons to my blogs, and her gift idea today came from
The Cottage Home

See what I did!  This blog is filled with wonderful sewing ideas and some yummy recipes!

I wonder what I can do next!

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Thursday, November 24, 2011

100 Things I am Thankful for this year 2011

1. Jesus
2. The fact that I live in a country where I can be thankful for Jesus.
3. God's Grace
4. God's forgiveness cause I am in need of it everyday
5. Dan
6. That our marriage is built on our faith in God.
7. Being a mom
8. Fingerprints
9. Robby
10. Isaiah
11. Jeremy
12. AnnieQ
13. Homeschooling my kids
14. Crockpots
15. Dishwashers
16. Ascension Lutheran Church and her wonderful families.
17. Coffee
18. Mary
19. Video players in cars
20. My foster kids and the joy each one have brought to our family.
21. Brandon
22. iPhone's
23. Facebook
24. Strawberries
25. My bed
26. My new arches for my shoes
27. GPS
28. Being a non-called DCE
29. Pastor Bernie
30. Painio music
31. Peppermint Mocha's
32. My mom
33. Youth ministry
34. Hot baths
35. Texting
36. Music
37. Panda
38. My dad
39. My Cat-Camella
40. Our Doctors and their practices
41. Monrovia Elementary school and the teachers there
42. Freedom
43. Running water
44. Hot water
45. Electricity
46. That our house is still standing.
47. Cruising
48. The Greers, Buck, Eagans
49. Disney
50. Sharing family history
51. Coupons
52. Starbucks
53. Dried Corn
54. My sister Christie
55. "uncle Chad"... My brother in law
56. Tori
57. Turkey
58. Black olives
59. Coffee
60. Dan-again:)
61. Wendy
62. Shawn
63. Cayla
64. Destiny
65. Emily
66. Jon Jon
67. Laptops
68. Smell of thanksgiving dinner when you wake up!!
69. Aunt Dinny
70. Being able to sleep in when at Dan's family!
71. My sister-in-laws-I become baby sis with them!
72. Brother in laws all of them!
73. Martin Luther
74, my kids God families, Shafers, Evans, Heaps, Whitmires, Levenhagen's, Owens, Ms Bobbie and Susan and the Golden Girls!
75. Mike, Cyndi, Anna Peebles
76. For the life of Charlie and the lives he touched.
77. Snow
78. Hot Coco
79. Brownies
80. Snow
81. Brandle and Michael
82. Bubble baths
83. Warm sweaters
84. Old college friends
85. New car smell
86. Working District Sr. High-that was a blast!
87. My hubby
88. Camp Noah
89. All my extended family!
90. All my kids friends
91. Google
92. Kindergarten
93. CDC
94. Pillows
95. Bible on iPhones
96. New CPH self study bible
97. Education
98. Memories
99. Love
100. My Life

I could go on, but a 100 was all I needed!






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Thursday, November 10, 2011

A time for goodbyes, a time for hello's

I just finished up with my last morning of getting four kids ready for school.  While most of the time the kids did ok, I always had to work with Michael, getting him to stay on task, having him sit still to eat, keeping him out of coloring his face, and getting him out the door with out anything major happening.  And never knowing who was going to melt down, and it changed every day who that was going to be.  And after about an hour of noise, chatter, fighting, spoons clanging, they would leave with Dan to go to school and a silence would over come my house.  Now don't get me wrong, I have two at home who create enough noise of their own, but there was just a silence that came.  And I would go about my daily things, knowing that the "noise and craziness" would soon come back for the evening.

Now almost 12 hours after that silence waved over my morning, my day is finally wrapping up up with four kids, not the six that I awoke with.  We moved our two foster boys back home.  This is a milestone in our lives, two more little lives have touched our family and we are better for it.  But it was time for them to go home, it doesn't happen often.  Most of the time our foster kids end up with relatives, but today they went home to mom and dad!  My heart hurts to lose these guys.  They just became such a fixture in the house.  And at the same time, I am going to enjoy the calmness that will come with out the constant need to watch over the little one. 

As of now, Michael and Brandle are getting settled into their mom and dad's places and saying hello to the things that were once familiar to them.  I continue to pray that mom and dad do well and the family bonds together as they get use to each other everyday again! 

This comes with the territory of foster care-the hellos and goodbyes.  We get kids whose families need to work out things, can't care for them, or have problems beyond what we can comprehend.  Some kids go home, others live with relatives, and some stay.  Foster children leaving is hard.  They say to treat your foster kids like your own, but in reality, you don't give up your kids.  In foster care, you go in knowing these are your kids, but you get them for a short time.   It is just the way that it goes.  After they leave it is always ask, will you do it again?  Not tomorrow.   Maybe next week.  Who knows?  I do know I want a small one, like a newborn.  In for a change.  We do know right now we will not take in older ones again the same age as our kids.  It was like having triplets and twins.
But for now we trust that God has a plan for our family and we feel it is a big one coming up.  Many things are changing....so who knows whats next!

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Monday, November 7, 2011

Time to Move Home

After a long ISP meeting , a date was finally set for my two foster boys to move home. In 4 days I pack my boys up. And while I am looking forward to a slightly calmer house, these two boys have dug a corner in my heart and it makes me sad they are leaving. And all at the same time I love that fact that there may be a successful reunification. It doesn't happen often.

I haven't told the kids yet. I will tomorrow night. We have had Brandle (10) for a little over six months a Michael(5) for a little over four months. And our road with Michael hasn't been easy, far from it, but we were getting better each day. And I trust that he will continue to make strides back at his home.
For right now Michael is cuddle next to me sleeping and I am going to sneak in one more sweet hug before there are non.




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