Artist Study {Georgia O' Keeffe}

Our first artist study for the 2013/14 school year is Georgia O'Keeffe.

We read through this children's book by Jeanette Winter. This is a great summary of Georgia's life and paintings. 

One of the things our book mentioned was how when Georgia painted she always painted BIG! She might be painting a small flower but she made sure that one flower took up her entire canvas when she painted it. She wanted others to notice flowers as she did. She lived to be almost 100 and painted right up to the end of her life. Even after she moved to New Mexico she continued painting flowers. She would paint the desert and then add flowers into her paintings of the desert. That is how much she loved flowers. 

Our art project after reading our story was of course to paint flowers. BIG flowers. 

The kids started out by drawing flowers on papers to help them figure out what flower design they wanted to paint. 

Once they figured out what flowers they wanted to draw, they drew them on large pieces of poster board. My only request was that they draw BIG! Their flowers had to be big enough so that the pedals reached the edge of the paper or even fell off of the paper. 

Then came tracing over their flowers with a sharpie to outline them. 

Then came the really fun part....PAINT!

Camden's 

Annie's 

I think their flowers would make Georgia happy. 

"I decided that if you could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty. " ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

A Peak Into {1st Week Back to Homeschool}

We jumped back on to the school wagon this past week. We had some full days and overall it was a good week with just a few moments of panic for me. The hardest part for me is fitting in everything I want to do each day. My plans always far outweigh the hours at hand. I'm thankful for what we did accomplish each day and praying God would help me prioritize my school to-do lists, especially given that I have 6 different levels and many different subjects that I am teaching this year.

I snapped a few photos throughout the week in an effort to capture some of our first week back.

"Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 11:19 

My Eucharisteo's {365-386}

365) best friends for the girls

One of my prayers for our girls through the years is that God would bring each of them one or two special friends that they could really connect with, especially during the teen years. God is faithful and I thank Him so much for hearing and answering our prayers. 

Annie, Ashton, Katie, Abby, & Emmy 

Gracie & Ally, Natalie & Mackensie

366) Monday morning emails from Allison - always encourages my heart! 

367) start to a new school year 

368) bag of peaches from a friend 

369) warm peach pie with vanilla ice cream 

370) Ally & Cam playing hide-n-seek 

371) daily emails from Bryan when he is at work 

372) fun afternoon spent with Allison, Regina, Kristi, & kids 

Mackensie, Gracie, Ally, & Nattie 

Nattie & Mackensie 

Abby, Camden, & Logan 

To see more pictures from our afternoon play date with friends visit, HERE. My friend Allison is a photographer and she got some amazing shots of the kids! I especially love the photos of the girls on the trampoline. 

373) Camden singing worship songs around the house 

374) FIAR group planning 

375) time baking with Maria 

376) kids help with cleaning house 

377) Bryan running his fingers through my hair 

378) clean water to drink 

379) letter from Compassion child, Eylin 

380) Vercher family over for dinner 

Alicia & I 

Annie & Annalise 

Natalie & Angelica 

381) Camden's hugs 

382) Bryan's Saturday morning waffles 

383) kids making cards for their friends 

384) Gracie's B-day 

385) warm chocolate croissants 

386) cheese bread 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

Mission 180

A couple of Sunday's ago our church held an outreach called Mission 180. It was hosted by our youth ministry with our youth pastor Dean leading it all up. Other youth groups from around the area came to join in. It was a 5 hour event. A variety of musicians came to perform as well as a local homeschool drama team who performed. Dinner was served for free and lots of prizes were given away throughout the afternoon and evening. A guest speaker from Word of Life Ministries presented the gospel. The event was from 3-8pm but we just stayed at the church after service that Sunday so the kids and Bryan could help with set up. I ran down and got some pizzas and we enjoyed eating lunch at church with friends.  It was a really fun day all around! I didn't get many pictures from the day but here are the few that I did get. 

Natalie, Ally, & Gracie at lunch. 

Natalie & Annie setting up tables 

Some of the youth setting up the prize tables 

Annie helped make the signs for the bands 

Some of our youth who have created a band among themselves, leading worship. Wesley & Lindsey are brother and sister and they both go to ballroom dance with us. They love music and their band did an amazing job leading worship. 

Worship team from church leading worship. Look closely and you will see Camden in the front row. Remember when I shared that he wants to be a worship leader when he grows up. *grin* 

Dean leading a bible trivia time. 

Homeschool drama team, Benei Aor, performing during dinner. 

Ally & Gracie- best buds. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

Natalie's Baptism

Baptism is faith in action.

This past Sunday was a special day for us. Natalie began expressing a desire to be baptized around a year ago and this past Sunday it happened. Bryan baptized her during our Sunday morning church service with our pastor standing next to them and saying a few words. It was a very special time for us as Natalie acknowledged her faith in Christ before our church family and through baptism.

My heart rejoices! 

Romans 6:3-6 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

I ♡ meeting FIAR moms!

It was 12 years this past spring since I joined the Five in a Row message boards. Through this past decade I feel like I have gotten to know many of the fellow FIAR moms on the board quite well. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I have not met some of them in person. It feels like I have. We know each other's lives and have shared in each others sorrows and joys through the years. We have prayed together and loved one another as a family does. 

One of those precious FIAR moms just recently moved close to us! Joy and her family moved just one exit over and about 10 minutes from us. Joy's husband is a Methodist pastor and so they move to a new location every few years. They are originally from Alabama and have moved all over Alabama through the years but this is the first time we have managed to connect with each other in person. Previous to this move they were living outside of Huntsville but for around 8 years they were in Tuscaloosa so we actually have mutual in person friends since we too lived and went to church in Tuscaloosa for a while. Joy has 9 children and they have always homeschooled. They have 3 children left at home. Her 2nd grand baby is on the way. 

Joy and her family came over for lunch with us this past Saturday. It was a joy (no pun intended) to meet her! Her family is so precious. She has one boy and two girls left at home. The girls are 16 and 14, so close in age to Emmy and Annie. They will be starting in ballroom dance with us when classes start back on September 6th. We are excited about that and we sure did enjoy meeting all of them in person finally! 

Joy & I 

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

My Eucharisteo's {332-365}

332) Sunday lunch @ Shirley's with church families 

333) watching Camden & Logan play together
334) placing our membership at Shelby Crossings

335) Saturday afternoon with Houston watching James Bond movies
336) God's provision
337) free Panera bread
338) opportunity to serve in Panera ministry
339) glowing moon

340) fireflies
341) resting on back patio at dusk
342) pumpkin donuts

343) time with Maria
344) 4th cantaloupe from garden

345) sunflower peeking over Maria's fence 

346) Natalie's love for Phantom of the Opera 

347) Annie's help grocery shopping 

348) Duke asleep on Camden's bed 

349) Allison, Kristi, and Regina and kids over for visit 

350) heavy rain 

351) harvesting zucchini from garden 

352) Em calling while away from home to ask if a movie was ok to watch 

353) mild summer 

354) windows open all day and night 

355) lunch with Bryan and Annie 

356) McDonald's ice cream sundaes with Ally 

357) much needed day of rest, watching movies with Bryan & Houston 

358) visit to antique mall with Maria

359) Natalie's baptism 

360) outreach at church 

361) God's provision 

362) meeting new people 

363) 69 degree high in August! Wow! 

364) having Joy & family over for lunch

365) God's protection

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19