Changing the look!

 Hi!!!  I am working on a new look for my blog and wanted to warn you that it might take a day or two to get it the way I want it.  It may look strange as I change bits and pieces of it here and there.  It will not be the final look but it will be fun for now.  When this change is done I will be working on some things to make it more personal down the road.  This is just one step closer.  

Thank you all for patience!

PicMonkey

I don't have a lot of money, so spending money on photo editing software is not in my budget.  So in my quest to find different things online that don't cost me an arm and a leg I have found my new favorite place!  It is PicMonkey!  It is incredible!

There are dozens of amazing tools!  Now I am far from a professional photographer.  But I love to take pictures and have sold some of my stuff and it makes me feel great!  This will only help me to be able to offer an ever more beautiful product!

Check out these pictures.  They are all the same, yet with different editing tools applied.  It was so fun!

 

  

 

Which one is your favorite?!

Do you have a favorite editing program online?

Homeschool Mother's Journal 10

IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK...


This week has been kind of a whirlwind week where when all is said and done, I am not even sure what we did.  We did school and we went and had some fun with friends but other than that I believe our week was kind of boring!


However, we are going to Good Friday services tonight, Easter Egg hunting tomorrow, then Easter service tomorrow night (we have a large church and we go Saturdays)  then on Sunday we are going to Northwest Trek to check out the animals for Easter.  That is if the weather cooperates. :)  So you can say we celebrate our Easter a day early and that is good for us.

I AM INSPIRED BY...

My new friend Diane!  I started a new Life-group a couple months ago and Diane is part of that group.  She is an amazing woman of God and a great example of what it is to be a good mom.  She is a homeschooling mom with one graduated, one graduating and an 11 year old and I have been so asking God to put another mom in my life who has been there when it comes to homeschooling.  She has and she has been giving me so many great ides, reassuring me, giving me tools to use and I can't thank her enough.  I am asking the Lord to help me find a way to be as much a blessing to her as she has been to me!

QUESTIONS / THOUGHTS I HAVE...


What am I going to do for curriculum next year (second grade)????  I want to do Lifepac, but also I want to do some Amanda Bennett unit studies, but I also want to unschool.  As you can see, I don't know what I am going to do!  I have been trying to figure out if I should stick with Lifepac math or do something else.  I have had a dozen different people tell me a dozen different things are the best.  So I am still no better off than before!  Anyone else have anything to add on the whole subject so I can better sort out my line-up next year?  hehe

I AM READING...


Just my Bible for now, but hopefully soon I will be reading "Erasing Hell" by Francis Chan!  It is free to day on Amazon!  Click here for the free ebook!  Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love" was life changing for me so I can't wait to read this one.

I AM COOKING...


Later today we are making bread!  This is a great bread recipe if you want to try it.  Click here!  My Muppin loves to help in the kitchen so this will be a fun project for us to do together.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR...


For my Savior Jesus Christ who died for me on the cross today over 2000 years ago.  He took my punishment and when I think of how responsible I am for putting HIM there, it is overwhelming to me.  Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice for me and everyone who calls on you.  I love you!

A PHOTO / VIDEO / LINK / QUOTE TO SHARE...


This is one picture I took of my daughter (Muppin).  She was getting ready to leave for her Daddy Daughter Dance.  She was so excited.  I was having fun playing with the photo.  I did nothing to the left other than add a frame, but the right... That was fun!    Have a blessed Easter!  

 

Monkey Bread

We had fun about two weeks ago studying bread and how it is made and what makes it rise and all that jazz for a unit study and it was a blast.  Thanks Amanda Bennett!

One of the fun days we had was when we decided to make Monkey Bread.  We had a bunch of recipes in several books and this one was super easy so we dove right in.  For the recipe you can go to allrecipes.com.

As you can see, it is super hands on and perfect for little ones.  I cut the biscuits but she did all the rest except removing from oven and turning the hot pan over.

 We don't add nuts or raisons because she doesn't like them... but boy would they be yummy!

 As you can see after doing all the work with the cinnamon sugar she is quite messy and super cut!

And when it was all done, it was beautiful!  You can't quite see how shinny and gooey it was, but it was super delightful.

Have fun making this super simple treat for the weekend!  Enjoy!

Homeschool Mother's Journal 9

IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK...

This week has been a week of ups and downs.  Lots of transition can bring lots of stress if you let it.  I have changed my curriculum for this year, yes, almost 2/3rds of a year through.  Sounds crazy but I did not like my first curriculum and my Muppin was so board and going out of her mind. 

This was also the last week of my Bible study, "Jonah, Living a Life Interrupted."  And I will miss it.  So many good things in there I can't even begin.  One thing for all of us to remember and ask ourselves daily is this... "Is what I am involved in just something I love, or is it God's plan for me?"  It is ok to have those things we love in our lives, and most of them are super good things, like feeding the poor.  However, if it isn't God's will for you and it is keeping you from His will, then it isn't the path we should be on.

Not sure how to get back on the path?  Just ask yourself this... "What is the last thing the Lord asked me to do?"  Then do it.  And that thing can be as simple as going out to dinner with your husband alone, without the kids!

Those are the two things I received from the Lord during that study... and it was totally worth it!

IN MY HOMESCHOOL THIS WEEK...

As I said, I changed our curriculum.  However, I only bought Language arts and Math and started over with them.  Of course she is breezing through the beginning stuff because she has already done it, but it is good review.  Since we do school year round it won't be difficult to be done on time.  I am not sure what I will do next year.  She is a creative little thing, and I am not!  LOL.. Trying to figure out how to meld those things is difficult.  Any ideas would be most welcome!

PLACES WE ARE GOING AND PEOPLE WE ARE SEEING...

This weekend we are going to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park! We have been there before but not in about three or four years.  Muppin was much younger then and now that she is older it should be so much fun.  She is in 1st grade so we are going to use this time to study the animals in our part of the country, their habitats and all the other stuff that goes along with being an animal in the Pacific Northwest!  If you live in WA state, you must go!

QUESTIONS I HAVE...

How do I make my daughters learning fun and creative, when I am very much by the book type person and not the least bit creative???  

A PHOTO / VIDEO / LINK / QUOTE TO SHARE...

Here is my little Muppin, cowgirl at heart!!!

 

Homeschool Mother's Journal 8

IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK...

Life this week has been a little hectic and up and down with the crazy things of life. It has been a good week though.  I have spent time with the Lord to figure out what He really wants me to be doing in my life.  I have so many things that I love to do, feel the need to do, and feel I have to do that I can easily overwhelm myself.  And of course that is what I did.

What made me really think about all the things I have stuffed in my life is the Bible study that I am doing called "Jonah: Navigating Life Interrupted" by Priscilla Shirer.  She asked one question in one of her videos, "Do you have so many good things in your life you have no room left for the God things?"  That hit me right between the eyes.  So, needless to say I have given some things up and feel so much better about that.  But I will discuss that in another post.

IN MY HOMESCHOOL THIS WEEK...

This week we have been doing a unit study on Bread by Amanda Bennett.  It is a great study and we have had fun learning the history of bread throughout the world, the science of bread and we are having fun actually making breads.  Our favorite bread to make of course was Monkey Bread.  Yum!

I AM GRATEFUL FOR...

My God, my husband, my daughter, my home, and all the other things God has provided for me and my family.

I AM PRAYING FOR...

All the folks in the Midwest as they go through all the terrible storms that are happening.

A PHOTO...

We had a fun day of spring snow and my Muppin just had to create a little friend!  The snow was gone by about 3pm though, bummer!

 

Homeschool Mother's Journal 7

IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK...

This week has been a busy week with lots of wonderful things happening.  My Bible study started up again this week.  I started a new Life Group at my church.  I had a great evening with an old friend and some new friends at Starbucks just chatting and relaxing.  I am participating in a contest being ran by a friend who is a photographer so I am giving away something on my site.  I of course homeschooled my girl and looked up new curriculum for her for next year.  This list goes on but needless to say it was a full week.

WHAT IS NOT WORKING FOR US...

The Abeka program!  Don't get me wrong, it is a great program.  But for this mom and her constantly moving and artistic daughter it just isn't the right fit.  There is way too much prep time and there is so much repetition of exactly the same thing she is bored out of her little mind.  So we are supplementing with little things here and there.  My daughter is very imaginative, creative and always wanting to learn more, and Abeka doesn't really flow with those things.

THINGS I AM WORKING ON...

As I said above I have a friend that is a photographer and she is doing a giveaway on her site to celebrate her 1000th fan on her Facebook page.  She asked me to be part of it and offer a giveaway with her.  I was thrilled by the offer and honored.  So I have been working to get my new Facebook page up and running, working on getting more things up on my Etsy site so there will be things for people to choose from, and just plain get organized.  I will be uploading something new to my Etsy site every day during this so it is keeping me busy and honest with my work.  You can click the image below if you want to know more about it or you can go to Aspin Photography to read all the rules there!

 

I AM READING...

I am actually doing a new Bible study that I think is amazing.  It is "Jonah, Navigating a Life Interrupted" by Pricilla Shirer.  Talk about convicting!!!  Wow.   I recommend it to everyone!

I AM PRAYING FOR...

There is a lady in my homeschool group that I have never met named DeAnn.  She found out not long ago that she has cancer.  Her first treatment was last Friday and she ended up having a severe reaction to it.  Her heart started to fail which weakened her lungs and other organs.  She was in a coma for a few days and is still in ICU.  She is a little responsive now and doing a little better but is still in very serious condition.  They were not even sure if she would make it.  I am praying and believing that the LORD is going to show up in a mighty way and heal her completely.  He is the GOD who can and I trust HE will.  Please pray with me for DeAnn and her husband and children.

If you have not joined in on one of the Homeschool Mother's Journals before you are missing out.  Click the picture below to see the rules and to know what to do!  Enjoy your homeschool week!  God Bless!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Giveaway!

I am excited to announce that I am participating in my first giveaway. Aspin Photography has reached their first 1000 fans on their Facebook page so she is having a giveaway. She has several vendors participating and I am one of them. I am excited to be giving away one item from my Etsy shop, Inspirations by Carri, with the value up to $20.00. 

In order to participate you need to like my fan page on Facebook, and go to Aspin Photography and read all the rules and follow the next steps. 

The giveaway starts today and ends Feb 12th, at 9:00 pm. pacific time. The winners will be announced on Aspin Photography's blog on Wednesday, February 15th and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected. 

This is an exciting giveaway with some great prizes! Please join us for this great celebration!