Home Sweet Home...

We arrived safely home from our trip
on Wednesday evening, just in time for church.
(well 5 minutes late)

Thank you, all, for your prayers
and comments while we were away. ;o)
They were appreciated very much.

We had a wonderful time
and I look forward to sharing some photos soon.

I Bid You Adieu...

We are heading to our mini-vacation destination
and will (very likely) not be posting
until the end of the week.

Please feel free to check out our archives
or posts listed in our sidebar as we're away. ;o)
(Our recent, previous posts share 'tips' of what our trip will involve)
We look forward to sharing when we return.

We surely appreciate prayers for safety.
I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Until then...
We fare thee well ;o)

Week In Review...

It has been a busy week for us.
I have enjoyed my little bloggie break
and all our week entailed. ;o)

I thought I'd share a few photos
from throughout the week...

I thought this was cute
when I walked by the hall the other day...

Carolynne was pulling Beth through the house. lol
They sure did have a fun time!

They were, also, found this week
building a 'bridge' for their puppies...

This bridge consisted of puzzles, games, pillows,
a box, and many books from their shelf. lol
They were quite proud of their engineering skills. ;o)


Will enjoyed practicing his golf swing in the backyard...

...and, also, the cooler weather. Notice the jacket?? ;o)

In addition, he was found, often,
with his nose in a book...

It wasn't always this literal... lol...
but he did enjoy reading often.


Ally practiced her kitchen skills
by making breakfast one morning...

And successfully made a fried egg sandwich...
with the yolk still runny! A time of triumph for her. lol

She was, also, a little puzzled this week...

She was thrilled when she got this 500 piece puzzle finished!


One of the things I enjoyed this week,
was working on my new dress...

I lined the bodice and the skirt
so it was like making two dresses.
I still have to finish the hem this evening.
And I learned a valuable lesson...
don't gather the skirt on the sides only.
It doesn't lay quite as well. ;o) oh well

Here's a snapshot that Ally got of me trying it on...


Hope I don't look too grumpy there...
I was quite sleepy and debating whether to do the hem.
I voted for bed! ;o)


In addition to making the castle and Renaissance lapbook,
we practiced our Renaissance greetings.
Here were Ally and Will practicing their curtsy and bow...

It was great fun!


One last thing before I close...
The other day Beth and Carolynne were playing a game.
This game has letter cubes.
It's purpose is to teaching reading skills, etc...
Here they were playing it...


Well, I was sitting on the couch, enjoying the moment,
when Beth declared, "Mommy, I have two eyes."
"Yes, Beth, you do have two eyes.", I responded,
knowing that she already knew she had two eyes...
She is, after all, 5 years old
but I thought I'd just humor her
by responding in agreement.

She, then, stood up, walked to me and said,
"No, Mommy, I have two eyes!"
This was her face...

LOL! Oh, she cracked me up.
She had to I's. LOL ... the humor of a 5 year old.
It's never a dull moment in our home!


This may be my last post for another few days or so.
Early Monday morning (before the sun rises, Lord willing),
we will be heading to our mini-vacation destination
and will be gone a few days.
I may try to post a hymn to share this evening
but am unsure if I'll be able to.
We'll be packing up the van this afternoon
so we'll be ready, come Monday.
The hotel we'll be in will have internet access,
so you just never know. ;o)

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend,
a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow,
and a very enjoyable week!



"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever:
with my mouth will I make known
thy faithfulness to all generations."
~ Psalm 89:1

Renaissance Lapbook...

This week we focused a bit on the Renaissance
to enhance our upcoming trip.

One thing we did was make our own castle.
Here we were drawing, coloring and cutting the pieces...













Here was our finished construction...

We enjoyed playing with it throughout the week!


In addition to reading, we, also, made a lapbook.
We took a couple of days to finish it
but we did get it finished! ;o)
We had never done a lapbook before
so I was excited to give one a try.
I'm not creative enough so I did use some ideas
that I found online at THIS site.

Here was our finished project:
(You can click on the photos to enlarge)



The photos are from a book I purchased
from Dover Publications.


Here is the inside spread:



On the left (top to bottom) is
our ancestor coat of arms; a timeline;
types of plays by William Shakespeare.

Here was our timeline:


Types of William Shakespeare plays:



In the middle of the lapbook was
a wheel with the many wives of Henry VIII;
Food and Drink of the Renaissance;
a fact sheet; and the names of a knight's armor...

"The Many Wives of Henry VIII" wheel...



Food and Drink...



"Thou Knight in Shining Armor"...



On the right side of the lapbook was
Renaissance Language; Commerce info;
Ye Olde Castle.

Renaissance Language: "What Thou Sayest"...


Ye Olde Castle...



On the back of our lapbook,
the children drew their own Mona Lisa...

(I love their drawings!)

We enjoyed making our own lapbook for the 1st time! ;o)

Tuesday's Take...

I will be taking a small break, Lord willing,
from blogging, commenting, and emailing.
I plan to only take a couple of days
so that I can focus more intently
on some motherhood joys and household duties.
There are a few things I hope to accomplish
before we leave on our mini-trip next week...
I hope to catch up on laundry (to pack),
sew a new dress, make a Renaissance lapbook
with the children, among other things with them. ;o)


They are just SO precious!
What a joy it is to spend our time with them! ;o)

I hope to be able to post by the end of the week.
If you have emailed me or commented,
I hope to respond by the end of the week, also.
Thank you, all, for understanding.



Before I go, I thought I'd share a photo
that Ally took as we were out driving today.
One of the things I love about this state
is, what we refer to as, North Carolina "harvest snow".
When you pass by fields of this,
it blankets the ground like beautiful snow.
I love it!


(just in case you're unsure what it is...
it is cotton) ;o)

I hope y'all enjoy your week!


"Return unto thy rest, O my soul;
for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee."
~ Psalm 116:7

Monday's Musings...

The majority of my day was spent
blessing our home...


I intended to only vacuum the dining room
but saw the flooring around the rug
needed to be swept and cleaned.
So I pulled out the furniture from the wall,
swept and hand mopped the flooring.
As I was doing that,
I noticed the six windows in the dining room
needed a desperate cleaning,
so I was able to do that (inside and out).
When I finished the floor in the dining room,
it looked nice and white
but being next to the hall and kitchen,
there was a distinguished line
marking where I had stopped, so...
I continued on... mopping and drying. phew!
Afterwards, I tackled the tons
of paperwork and books that had accumulated
in the dining room on every available space.
Then I decided to wash the windows
that were in the living room, too,
after vacuuming that room and the reading room.
I was, also, able to squeeze in two loads of laundry.
It was a real blessing to get it all accomplished.

Ally worked on schoolwork most of the day
and is being a sweetheart by making supper this evening.
She was excited to finish her medieval dress
over the weekend and is all set to wear it
next week for our trip...




The younger ones helped with some cleaning
and enjoyed creative play and educational games,
along with silent reading.
Here they were during one of those times of play...



We were, also, excited over the weekend
to get a couple of postcards from Daddy...



The one on the left cracked us up.
(You can click to enlarge)
He wrote that he was in a similar situation recently. lol

Now I'm off to eat supper
and read more of our read-aloud this evening.
I hope y'all have enjoyed your day. ;o)

How Wonderful Art Thou...

I walk at night beneath majestic skies
And know behind them is a God all-wise,
Who fixed all stars, each in its lonely place,
And wrapped them in a darkened robe of space.


(Chorus)
O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou
To love the world while heav'ns before Thee bow.
I fail to comprehend it all some how.
O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou.



I see the moon, the stars in distant space,
And think of how the God of matchless grace
Is coming in the clouds to claim His own -
Such wonders that on earth cannot be known.


(Chorus)
O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou
To love the world while heav'ns before Thee bow.
I fail to comprehend it all some how.
O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou.



I scan the heav'ns with rapture in my soul
And wonder how the God Who made the whole
Could ever fix His thoughts on such as I
And give His Son upon the cross to die.


(Chorus)
O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou
To love the world while heav'ns before Thee bow.
I fail to comprehend it all some how.
O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou.

O mighty God, how wonderful art Thou.


words: E.D. Eden - music: B.D. Osborn
taken from Majesty Hymns hymnal



" Many, O LORD my God,
are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered."
~ Psalm 40:5