mama mia

can you guess what we had for dinner?

the kids have been begging me to make

homemade pizza for weeks and so

in a moment of weakness i gave in.

the deal was, though, that i had to have

some help. well, when it comes to cooking i

never have to ask twice, because there

is always an abundance of hands willing

to get very dirty with tasty things

like pineapple and canadian bacon.

so all i really did was supervise.

even my hubby joined in the fun

and he helped dice and slice.

my personal pizza was filled with veggies,

i didn't break my no meat rule. after all it is for a

very good reason. and it bears so much fruit, let me tell ya.

if there is any area in your life that needs some extra attention,

prayer and fasting are the answer. i am living proof of it.

GOD is so good. and so was this pizza!

thanks to jen for the reminder regarding rosemary.

i added some to my dough and it was delicioso!

portrait study

borrowing a page from here

the kids made these portraits of birds.

i couldn't find any calenders, i know i have a million of them somewhere,

but i had a box of these greeting cards, which were perfect.

even littlest son enjoyed doing his own portrait of this bird.

--------------------------

and this was my daughters' notebook page on hummingbirds.

she is the one who enjoys these endeavors the most.

i have a hard time throwing any of her work away because

it is always so pretty!

ps. thanks nina for a great resource on hummingbirds.

i am going to try and order that today!

yesterday

we are having way too much fun over here.

there was so much goodness to behold outside during our bird watching session.

which, by the way, happened during a very serious lesson on vertebrates and invertebrates.

i was explaining the serious subject of spinal cords, bones, etc. like a good teacher should and we were about to do a notebook page diagramming such and then middle son spotted a hummingbird out by the orange trees. needless to say, we all bolted (quietly) outside, armed with cameras and binoculars. and as we found nests, saw and heard at least six different types of birds and experienced the fresh air and the lovely trees and rooftops brimming with birds, there would be no going back inside until it got dark. my girl climbed the big tree in the back yard for a prime hummingbird watching spot. we moved the feeder because it wasn't getting any visitors. then middle son led me to a nest in the orange trees he had spied a few days ago and we were in awe of all the twigs and bits of this and that the birds like to gather. and well, littlest son, along with our mama cat, tended to be a noisy nuisance, but it is so awfully hard to sit still and be quiet when you've got the whole yard calling out to your bare feet to come and play.....

and yes, that tiny hummingbird kept wanting me to take his picture, that is when he'd sit still long enough and quit fighting with another male. we had no idea how agressive those little guys could get. we witnessed some pretty interesting behavior yesterday firsthand, that they could never get from just books.

so that's what we did yesterday, i don't know how structured it may seem,

but this kind of learing just happens sometimes.

i've learned in my nine years of homeschooling that this is really the best way.

we have been getting the three R's done early on so that the afternoons are more free to do what we like. the evenings have been "craftier" as i make time for myself, they seem to follow my lead and do more creative things too.

so perhaps tomorrow i'll show you some of the wonderful artwork

that pours out onto the paper when these little ones are exposed to the creation of such an AWESOME GOD!!!!

i desire a strong faith

Jesus appears to mary magdalene
"mary, do not touch ME,
for I have not yet ascended to My Father"Jn.20:17
"then shall you call, and the LORD shall hear:
you shall call and He shall say: Here I am". Is. 58:9

i don't know why, today, while praying a scriptural rosary with my kids, this particular meditation for the Hail Mary in my new book, really struck a chord. very tearfully, my children quite used to my crying while we pray, i thought about how she must've felt when HE stopped her. i can't help but wonder if it had to do with her sinfulness touching HIS glorified body and i thought about my own sinfulness and how this had to be such a test of faith for her. she was probably fed up with men at this point in her life and to reach out to HIM and have HIM turn her away must've been so very hurtful. she was, after all, human. and don't we feel this way when we reach out to someone in love and they turn us away. but yet, HE gave her hope. and HE gives that same hope to you and to me, for HE has ascended to HIS Father and i know that i can certainly call out to HIM and that when i call out to HIM, i am also calling out to the Father, for HE and the Father are ONE. and isn't it something when i hear HIM say, "here I am", because there are so many times that i feel like a lost child, groping around in the dark for the light switch in a very dark, dark world. and then there HE is, the only light i need, shining on what would otherwise be a very weak faith. a faith probably more like thomas, but with HIS grace, i am content with the faith of the magdalene, for hers was a strong faith.

almost wordless wednesday

little children:

"unless you become like little children,

you shall not enter the kingdom of GOD." (mt.18:3)

only the childlike retain the child's gift of wonder.

wondering, we forget ourselves, entirely lost in what has provoked our awe.

wonder is the wellspring of praise.

we have reason for our praise:

we are GOD'S children, made in HIS image.

for the birds

are you sick of me saying how it
it kinda feels like
summer around here?

well, at least spring.

so we'll be doing this today.

there is a special place in my

heart for hummingbirds.

maybe someday i'll tell you why.

anyway,thank you grammie

for sending the kids

this feeder. they love it.

and i love it too

because it has my two

favorite colors on it!!!

by their fruits you shall know them

thank you allison

for picking this wonderful blessed for us.

i am confident that in a world that screams

out to us to "have and buy more, more, more",

and how "it's all about me, me, me",

we can learn many things from

the life of blessed mother teresa.

i knew in my heart that this would

be the year that we did more

for God, cutting back in all of the

ways that are necessary

so that together we can be better

stewards of what we have been

given.

i have certainly learned, in my

journey as a stay-at-home mom,

that money isn't everything

and there are so many people

who literally have nothing.

so it is my prayer that

with her intercession,

we, as a family,

will bear lasting fruit as we

look for ways to help

"the least of our brethren."

my REAL daybook

no simple woman daybook today.
i am just not feeling it.
but here is a peek at my REAL daybook.
the one with all of my life plans, hopes and dreams in it.
i carry it with me everywhere, but the pages are almost done
and as you can see, i don't want to part with its' sunflower-y goodness
and so an idea, an ORIGINAL idea, popped into my head.
so yes, these fingerless gloves come from my imagination,
so if you've seen something like them before,
please don't tell me because it will spoil the fun for me.
i am rarely creative enough to think up my own ideas,
but i really feel these are an original.
unless all the whos down in whoville are wearing them.
don't they look like something the whos would wear?

i know i could've had a career as a hand-model.

but i chose homeschooling instead!

ps. stay tuned for the "stem and leaf".

back to school

well, it's official.

we are back to school.

i feel about as discombobulated as this crock of pencils.

i am hoping my some of my pre-kindergartner's enthusiasm will spread to the other kids.

maybe even to me too.

i am having some serious issues here.

this time of year just makes me want to snuggle on the couch, read and draw.

who needs math, right?

unless it's for counting the steps to the library.........

a forced winter

is it wrong of me to want it to feel

like winter?
i guess maybe if i lived somewhere
that was cold all of the time
i would long for
these sunny days,
but you can't blame a girl for
trying.
so i will continue to:

bake bread,

sew winter-inspired projects

and keep my snowflakes up

in an effort to winter-ize my little corner of the world.

now does any one else have any bright ideas????

yes, he is somehow sleeping with a huge Christmas light in his face.

that's quite a bright idea, isn't it?

three words

jack.is.back.

p.s. now ladies, this post is not intended

to profane the sabbath in any way.

just thought i'd throw this out there...........

then HE must be really pleased with me

because i am
so very
helpless.