Mustard Seeds

Back to School - Week 21! (BOAT WEEK)

2012-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, we have been SOOOO sick. It was like the Bubonic Plague up in here. I probably should've taken the teachable moment and scarred my children with information on the Black Death, huh?. Nah.

We're back in action, though!

This week is BOAT week. We'll be playin' in the water a lot this week, and LOVING IT.

HERE is the lesson plan.

Make a splash!

Great Park Adventure - Alejandro Garces Camp Tomahawk Park

2012-01-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

This morning, we met up with friends at Alejandro Garces Camp Tomahawk Park! We did lots of nature exploration and had a great time! If you like geocaching, scavenger hunts, or just enjoying nature, you should DEFINITELY go visit Tomahawk Park!

It was clean, quiet, and loads of fun! :)

Aren't these climbing things the coolest?

He's having so much fun he can't stand it!

Swings!

Plenty of dirt and grass for parking, running, and playing!

Pavilion with lots of tables for picnicking!

Bridge to the Unknown!

Exploring!

Hiding with friends! :)

Here is the park's website, and its amenities are listed below.

Amenity	Count
Benches	11
Bike racks	1
Car Parking	12
Drinking Fountain
Fishing Available
Grills	6
Multiuse Field	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	1
Picnic Tables	10
Playground Equipment	3
Restrooms	1
Security Lighting

Back to School - Week 20! (CARS WEEK!)

2012-01-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

We are talkin' cars this week! I look forward to making a magnificent collection of rubber band cars with my little man. :)

We are still working on the same memory verse from last week. It's a long one! :)

HERE is the lesson plan.

UGH, and I just realized I left the math part out! We are using our little Hot Wheels collection as manipulatives to practice addition and subtraction. :)

VROOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great Park Adventure - Verona Park

2012-01-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

Today, the Great Park Adventure took us out to San Jose Boulevard, to visit Verona Park! We met up with lots of friends and had a blast!

Verona is secluded, very shady, and surrounded by nature. The kids spent much more of their time exploring the nature than the park. It was really fun. :)

You know it's a fast slide when you snap a blurry picture!

Swings for the kiddos...

Pouty face because she was holding a grudge against a friend. Girls. *eyeroll*

A fun tube slide

The playground area is fenced in with several benches for your sitting pleasure. The ground is dirt, so if you are digging or mess-averse, it may not be the park for you. ;)

The kids, of course, discovered the one secret passageway in and out of the gate (i.e., broken gate).

And this is the other possible downside to this park. This back exit beckons children to roam out into the world, and to try their luck at the drop down to a small, what I will call a stream. ;) Our kids all found their way there.

AND LOOK HOW CUTE THEY ARE!!!! They congregated together, hushing us and holding us back. I believe they were bird-watching.

They then took us on a hike around the stream to get to the other side, picking up sticks and things along the way. At this point, several of them huddled together, "to make a plan." We were gathering sticks to build a bridge across the stream, and I suppose they were divvying up responsibilities. ;)

Looks like a pretty serious plan, huh!?

Finally, the plan in action!

Aspen was last to relinquish her stick.

So, we had a blast at this park. Objectively speaking, I wouldn't say it's super amazing as a park, but I'm no kid trying to build a bridge across a stream. This was clearly a case of nature being far superior to man-made playground equipment. :)

HERE is the park's website, and its amenities are listed below.

Park Amenities

Amenity	Count
Benches	7
Playground Equipment	4
Trash Barrels	3

Back to School - Week 19! (AIRPLANE WEEK)

2012-01-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

I feel like this is going to be our first "normal" week since the holidays. YAY! :) So, we are going to be learning about AIRPLANES this week.

I'm excited to get back to our normal routine, and this is one of those weeks when it is really great to be a homeschooler. Throwing paper airplanes is part of our lesson plan!

HERE is this week's lesson plan.

I hope to post some of our airplane crafts over at Luv Boopa later this week.

I hope this week has you flying high! :)

Great Park Adventure - Deerwood Childrens Rotary Park

2012-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've never been to a more crowded park. Seriously. Almost all the parking spaces were full, and people were in and out the entire time. Wanna know why? This park virtually eliminates the option of getting dirty. ASTROTURF! Granted, there are some dirt patches around, but the vast majority of the park is serenely set in lush green fake grass. Since there were so many kids there, I didn't take a lot of wide shots. I figured that might weird people out. :) ("Hey, why is that mom taking pictures of our kids?")

EXCITEMENT!

I thought this climby thing was pretty cool.

And a rock, paper, scissors game! Only one problem. If three of you play and you each choose a different weapon, isn't it just like circular reasoning?.

There's a covered pavilion with ONE table for your eating pleasure. Beware, this place is POPULAR. We had to wait our turn, and share with another family. Weirdest thing? This park has NO trash cans. It's the kind of place where whatever you bring with you, you take home with you. The Deerwood Rotary Club has no interest in cleaning up your garbage. So, it was COMPLETELY litter-free. NO litter. NO graffitti. Also, bonus, the whole park is fenced in, so you can let your tiny babies crawl all over the astroturf with no worries.

There's a break in the ground, and you can see some of the rubber beneath it. :) A few more layers, and you'll get to the earth... then on to China!

This is pretty sweet. It's a wheelchair swing. How do I know? I heard some dad tell his kid. Only, it is only about 1 cm off the ground, so I'm not sure how that works.

This series of swing pictures is purely self-indulgent. Enjoy my daughter's array of faces.

(In the picture above, she was saying, "Almost there, almost there..." hahah)

More swings, restrooms, and water fountains.

There's a ball that stays at the park, apparently, for playing this game...

Funnel Ball. Aspen tried her best, but it was a bit too high.

So, all in all, it was a really fun park! It's relatively small, perfectly clean, and ridiculously popular. Go check it out!

(Cyndi - Is this what you were talking about?)

Also, random anecdote... while in the car, Ephraim said, "Mom, aren't we adorable children?" I said, "Yes, you are," while Aspen SCREAMED, "NO BUBBA!!!! I ADOOOOOORRRRABLE!!!!!!!!!!" Yes, yes you are...

Here's the park's website, and its amenities are listed below.

Park Amenities

Amenity	Count
Benches	5
Car Parking	22
Drinking Fountain
Picnic shelters	1
Picnic Tables	2
Playground Equipment	8
Restrooms	1
Trash Barrels	3 (I take issue with this statistic, 'cause I didn't see a single one!)

Back to School - Week 18! (ROBOT WEEK, CONTINUED)

2012-01-16T06:02:00.000-08:00

Well, last week was Aspen's birthday. As predicted, we did not finish the week of school, so we are rolling robot week over into this week, and adding in some Martin Luther King, Jr. Day activities!

Have a great week! :)

Great Park Adventure - Metropolitan Park

2012-01-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Today, I decided to go downtown and see what's happening with Kids Kampus. Sadly, I have nothing to report. Maybe I didn't recognize what I was looking at, but I didn't see any evidence that there is any playground building going on. I am totally out of the loop with regard to local politics, so it may have been scrapped and I have no knowledge of it. Either way, we spent hours having fun at Metropolitan Park. Honestly, I think Metropolitan Park is one of the coolest, prettiest things about our fair city.

Obviously, Metro Park is often closed to the public because of concerts and other events, but when it's open, it's a fun place to go explore. :)

Check it.

We had a picnic at the top of a pavilion.

We raced in the grass.

We made faces for the camera.

And we played on the playground equipment. This is all there is, for now.

If you are a Jacksonville native, I know you have childhood memories of climbing this gator! :)

Education.

Ruining the fun.... but that gator's probably really old.

We had a blast! You should go do the same! :)

Here is the Metro Park website, and its amenities are listed below.

Amenity	Count
Benches	136
Bike racks	12
Boat docks	78
Drinking Fountain
Grills	15
Pedestrian Docks	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	6
Picnic Tables	43
Playground Equipment	1
Restrooms	3
Security Lighting
Trash Barrels	45

Back to School - Week 18! (ROBOT WEEK!)

2012-01-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

Ephraim is really into ROBOTS right now, so this week we'll spend a little time learning about them, and even building some. :)

This is our first week back after Christmas break, and Aspen's birthday is on Friday, so I have no expectation of actually doing all the lessons this week. We'll see, though.

HERE is the lesson plan.

Here is a cool robot.

And here are the two coolest robots ever.

(That was just me being silly and geeky, FYI.)

Blessings for 2012

2012-01-02T17:12:00.001-08:00

Wow! It's a new year already. I can hardly believe it. I have lots of thoughts swirling in my mind, but hopefully this will be somewhat coherent.

I am not traditionally a resolution maker. Why? Cause seriously, ya'll, I make resolutions all the time. I am obsessive about keeping them, and I think a year is way too long for a proper resolution turnaround time. I know you're laughing at me. That's fine. I get things done. :) Anyway, I do have a couple of general ideas that I'd like to implement in 2012. I actually hate these sorts of goals because they are so hard to measure, and I admit it, I like to know if I've succeeded! So, here are some of the general things that I'd like to do better in 2012.

First, I want to cultivate relationships with people who are not like me. Don't we all fall into those clone ruts where we only hang out with people with our same worldview and opinions? I do. This year, I'm going to make more of an effort toward the people who don't fall into those categories. Those relationships are so beneficial for growing and challenging one another, and ultimately, as a believer, my job here on earth is not to hang out in the club with other believers. So, I won't. :)

Second, I am going to try to be less of a know-it-all. It drives me crazy when other people do it, but I know I'm exactly the same way. So, I'm going to try to check myself before offering unsolicited advice or my "obviously right answer" to their problems. I suppose this one could be measured quite easily. :)

Finally, I want to tell people the things that I love and admire about them. So, I'll start now. This is just a random listing of lots of people in my life. If you aren't here, you will be soon! I'm going to try to keep these to just a couple of lines, whatever jumps out at me.

Quincy - You are so steadfast and good. Just GOOD. Sometimes, I don't even get how GOOD you are. You are slow to anger and quick to forgive (neither of which are my strong points). Love you HUGE!

Mom and Dad - You are really, really generous. I so appreciate what you are doing for us. You are also really thoughtful. I know that you often go out of your way to make our lives easier, while inevitably making yours harder. Thank you!

Ephraim - You are super smart. I am so proud when I watch you read and learn new things. You have always amazed me with your vocabulary and intelligence. I'm also so excited when you offer unsolicited prayer for issues and problems. You get it, my man.

Aspen - You are STRONG. You are definitely your momma's girl. You have got a stubborn streak that won't quit, but I believe this will serve you well in life. I love seeing you just GO FOR IT! You can do anything, little lady.

Sharon - You are a pioneer and a trailblazer. You have walked and are walking all sorts of difficult roads, and you persevere. You love DEEPLY. You give mercy to scandalous degree. You are one of the most generous people I know. I hope I'm like you when I grow up.

Ashley - You are tough. You are walking through so many difficult situations, but you are MAKING IT. You WILL make it. You can handle whatever is thrown your way. I believe in you!

Morgan - You are honest, funny, and loving. You are an amazing mom to your little ones, and I know way too much about what a great wife you are. ;)

Suzy - You are my funny, sweet, down-to-earth friend! I am so thankful that God allowed us to cross paths and I let you steal me from Cyndi. I could seriously spend days just laughing with you!

Cyndi - You are seriously one of the funniest people I've ever known. I'm super happy we're back in one another's lives (to whatever small degree) and that I get the benefit of your vast medical knowledge and experience. Let's get together lots while Suzy's away and make her super jealous.

Janice - MY LOVE! Oh my word, who doesn't love Janice Foster??!?!? You are the eternal bosom of goodness and warmth, and also ridiculously funny and entertaining. I love you, your life, your story, and I LOVE that God let me know you. I know how much He adores you.

Mark - I love that you and I are secret twins in many ways. This is really random, but I will never forget the day we found out about Ransom, pulling in your driveway, and making eye contact with you indicating that things were not well. It's one of those random, etched-in-stone memories. Thank you for being there for us, in so many ways. Thanks for being a bulwark. I think Janice will appreciate my calling you a bulwark.

Joy - Girl, you are an inspiration. I know the past year and a half have been hard, good, bad, crazy, and unexpected. And YOU have survived! You are better than ever, and I know God is continuing to grow you and mold you more into His image. How cool is that!?!?

Colleen - You are the picture of sweetness. You have all the characteristics that I have to work REALLY hard to possess, and I admire you for that! You are gentle and slow to speak. I know you have such a tender heart, and I really need to take some lessons. :)

Ryan - So thankful God put you in our lives. You are the real deal, God's man chasing after God's plan, whatever it looks like. I also appreciate that we have the same sense of humor, so that when I go overboard, Quincy and Colleen will give you dirty looks as well. :)

Holly - I MISS YOU! You are strength and beauty. You are passionate and loving. You are an amazing mom, living an amazing life that God has laid out for you. I also think you are super cool and have an amazing sense of style (clothing and home dec, fyi). ;)\

Britney - You are so sweet, and I love your secret, quirky sense of humor and amazing craftiness. You are a ball of yummy, and I just might eat you up!

Jason - You are a funny fella. I so miss your randomocity. PODIATRIC, for the win. Love how you love your family, and the kind of husband and dad you are!

Crystal - You are funny and outgoing, and ridiculously talented. I am always so proud of you when I see you, or hear you sing. I'm pretty sure I will always think of you as a sister in my heart. :)

Jamie - Man, you never give up! I love that God gave you a vision, and you continue to passionately chase after it. I'm proud of you, brother. Keep running!

Kim - Love you dearly, you crazy, crazy woman. :) I love the passion and intensity with which you are running this race. Never give up! We've got your back.

Ray - Whenever I think about you, I just feel this huge sense of pride (the good kind) in my heart. I know it was not easy, being remade and all, but I love the remade you! Teach. It's your gift.

Kaitlyn - Was there ever a more amazing, wonderful, sweet, talented teenage girl? God crafted something so unique and beautiful in you, and I love watching you bloom and unfold! I feel like I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting and wondering, "Who will she become!??!"

Jen - Your electrical circuits are constantly freaking out, but you go on being so humble and loving! How do you do it!?!? Seriously, your humility is one of the things I admire most about you. I need to learn that from you.

Brittany - You are one of those people who everyone adores. They can't even help it. You are hilarious and honest. You are absolutely beautiful, inside and out.... and I totally take credit for your marriage. God may have made the match, but I took the phone calls. You know what I'm sayin?. ;) JK

Beau - So proud of you for pursuing what God laid on your heart. I know He is using you mightily, and I'm glad to be your sister. Love you!

Lauren - I love that you are straightforward and hardworking.... my kind of girl. Thanks for taking care of my brother. :)

Christa - I know that your life is so hard right now, but I know that you are running to the One who's got it all in His hands. I admire your strength, and more than that, I admire your ability to be weak. It is not my strong suit.

Eva - Oh, how I miss you, my crafty sister of the heart. :) I love the faith journey that God has set before you and Jonathan, and I am really, really excited to watch this year unfold for you both. He is faithful, but I know you already know that. :)

Jenifer - I admire your sweet, sweet spirit. I know that you secretly think a lot of the things I don't edit myself from saying because your sarcastic streak is pretty similar to mine, but I am so envious of your mute button! :)

Katie (and Antoine) - I love you guys. I love what God is doing in your lives right now. It is one of the most exciting storylines that I'm currently following. :) What a miraculous year you are going to have in 2012!

Rebecca - I love you and want to tuck you in my pocket and steal you away. You are so, so smart, and sweet, and beautiful, and amazing, and wonderful... and you are a serious Gator fan! I think you are probably one of the best people I've ever known. I am praying MAJOR blessing over your life this year.

John and Elizabeth - I feel so blessed that we get to have you guys in our lives. You've bucked the system in so many ways, and I admire your faith, strength, and family-oriented ways. I appreciate that we share a very similar sense of humor, and I plan to use the chicken-egg effect on many friends in 2012, as I know you will. We pray for you daily and love you so much!

Kim K - I've got your back, girl. I am SOOO proud of what God has done and is doing in you and your family! I love your loud, funny, crazy self. :)

I know I've missed several people, but I have to put my daughter to sleep right now. Don't worry. You'll be here soon.

BLESSINGS TO YOU IN 2012!!!

Back to School - Week 17! (MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!)

2011-12-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Here is this week's lesson plan. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas, friends!!

Back to School - Week 16! (CHRISTMAS CONTINUES!)

2011-12-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here is this week's lesson plan.

Like I said, it is much the same throughout this month. ;)

Hope you're having a happy December!

We are! (Well, honestly, there's been a lot of sickness, and we're still battling... but we're mostly happy.) And check out Ephraim's mad robot skills. That's my boy!

Back to School - Week 15! (CHRISTMAS BEGINS!)

2011-12-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

For the month of December, this lesson plan will basically stay the same.

As a family, we are reading "Tabitha's Travels" by Arnold Ytreeide, but since all three of the books are so great, we are reading "Jotham's Journey" and "Bartholomew's Passage" during school time. Seriously, if you haven't purchased these advent books, you SHOULD! They are SO good!

We are also participating in "Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands." It is a great little e-book available for only $2.99. Each day, you are given a passage of scripture and a simple ornament to create related to the scripture. Totally worth it!

Also, I think I have failed to mention that we've added in the next level with our Dolch sight word cards. We have mastered all of the pre-primer words and are working on primer words now. Essentially, I'm just doing this to make reading a bit easier for Ephraim, so that he can immediately see and recognize these words without having to sound them out.

Annnnnd..... I know cloud week seemed sort of out of the blue, but Ephraim's been asking a lot of cloud-related questions, so I wanted to take advantage of the moment. :)

So, here is this week's lesson plan. Like I said, it will stay much the same all month. Enjoy!

Back to School - Week 14! (CLOUD WEEK)

2011-11-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm a little behind in posting this. Quincy was feeling sick last night, and I'm feeling it today. Boo!

Anyway, HERE is the lesson plan! Enjoy!

A Little More Like Him (Three Years Later)

2011-11-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

Usually, I am an open book. Lately, I haven't had that same liberty. Life feels a bit overwhelming right now, and I'm spending lots of my days just trying to figure out what God is up to in our lives. I'm pressing forward in serving Him the best I know how, and in being who I believe He's created me to be, but I have so many questions, concerns, such a full plate. I know everybody has seasons like this, just sort of fighting the funk. I didn't really want to write anything at all today, but I figured I might regret it later. So, be forewarned that this may turn into a bunch of emotional vomit.

Today marks three years since the death of our second son, Ransom. That's so strange to me because in many ways it seems like yesterday, and in other ways it seems SO long ago. I know this was a pivotal moment in my life and in the life of my family. Nothing has been quite the same since. There's no going back once death has touched your life so intimately. We still talk about him, and Ephraim has lots of questions and ideas about this brother he never knew. It's really interesting to get a child's perspective on the loss and to hear him verbalize his thoughts on death and Heaven. At dinner tonight, we were all talking about how awesome Heaven must be, and how Ransom must really love it there.

As many of you know, we've been living with my parents for the past few months and renting out our townhouse ('cause we sure can't sell it!) in the hopes of buying a new primary home while the prices are still so low. My parents have been extremely thoughtful and generous with us, but it is still a challenge. I struggle with this constant feeling of being in the way. Don't get me wrong, they aren't doing or saying anything to indicate that, but it is how I feel. I'm wondering if, even while renting the townhouse, we'll have a chance of getting approved for any sort of financing, since it seems like the economy is just getting worse and worse. My Dad has been seriously ill. Hopefully he won't be upset at my sharing this here. He will be fine very soon, but his initial diagnosis and outlook a few months ago was very bleak. Our main moneymaker, CrossEyed Design, has lost a few clients due to the continued economic crisis, and it is still scary and unpredictable to live as a self-employed family. It's frightening to watch business after business shut their doors and wonder about the prospects of your own business and financial future (or present). I'm still working part-time doing medical transcription in the early mornings, as a subcontractor for another company, and I'm having a rather successful go at an Etsy shop, but those two things naturally decrease my sleep and increase my stress. I'm trying to keep those things balanced with being a mom and teacher to my little ones and volunteering once a week at 2nd Mile. I've also taken up running, which is crazy and something I never thought I'd do, but just last week I ran 25 minutes without stopping! Go me! I actually started doing that to help deal with some of my stress, and it certainly helps.

Anyway, I didn't share that long list of concerns just to complain to you, but to share something that I think is really weird. How do any of those things compare to losing a child? They don't... but I'll be honest, I have struggled SO much more with those things than with the death of my son. I've said this several times, but I feel like the major crises of our lives (death being one of them) really push us toward or away from God. On the other hand, the continual stuff of life and the ongoing struggles, they have a way of pushing us all over the place! There have been good days and bad days around here. There are nights when I go to bed having a pity party about falling asleep in the same room that I grew up in, and other nights being so thankful that I have parents who are willing to let us give this a shot. Today, I experienced that same emotional range when remembering Ransom. There is part of me that is still so sad to have had to tell him goodbye, and another part of me that is so grateful that God let me be a part of that experience. I suppose that duality is part of our humanness. We can feel both of those things, and both of those things are true, and God is working in all of it.

I don't know what God is up to in my life right now. I am not sure where He will lead us. I know we will follow. I know I'm better equipped to follow because of a little boy in Heaven, who God used to shape me and mold me into someone a little more like Him.... and I know He is using all of the other things and struggles in my life to do the same, if I will let Him.

Back to School - Week 13! (HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!)

2011-11-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

We are takin' the week off, 'cause we can! We'll still be doing some Thanksgiving crafts, so check them out over at Luv Boopa.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Free Twitter Backgrounds

("Glitter" in web graphics always makes me laugh.)

Back to School - Week 12! THANKSGIVING CONTINUES!

2011-11-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

HERE is this week's lesson plan.

Apparently, I was off on last week's Bible lesson. Quincy is starting "The Good Samaritan" with Ephraim this week.

We are continuing with last week's memory verse. This one is kind of tough with lots of big words!

For crafts, we'll be doing a couple of pilgrim crafts and a super cute turkey gratitude jar. Check out the pictures below.

Source: squidoo.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: toddlerapproved.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: childmadetutorials.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I am changing up the reading this week because I found a book that I find really exciting. I'm kind of a history nerd in some ways, so when I found "Pilgrim Voices: Our First Year in the New World," I was very happy! It is a collection of passages from diaries and journals written by the pilgrims themselves, matched with a beautiful collection of paintings by Shelley Pritchett. I have pre-read most of the book already. A great deal of the language will be WAYYYY over my 4-year-old's head; however, I will still read very short excerpts to him, and then explain what was written to him in simple language. I love reading things that were written by the pilgrims. It's fascinating! Hopefully my enthusiasm will rub off on little man and he'll find it fascinating as well. I might also take him back to visit Ft. Caroline later in the week, and am hoping to get a St. Augustine trip on the books for next week! You better believe I'll be checking out Simply St. Augustine when making my plans. (Yes, that was advertising.)

Finally, I'm excited to have found this other book at the library, "Pilgrim Foods and Recipes" by Sarah Florence. I haven't looked at all the recipes in the book, but we'll be cooking up some concoctions real soon. ;)

Great Park Adventure - Adolph Wurn Park

2011-11-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

Adolph Wurn Park was our destination for today! It is on the Southside, off Dean Road, and seems to be the location of a local Pop Warner football league.

As you can see, this park was founded in 1955, with the park and pool given by the Wurn family.

And in Florida, a pool is a GOOD thing!

These three pictures all show Ephraim trying to do some sort of trick and falling at the last second. :)

HUGE parking lot and plenty of extra parking on the street!

Basketball courts.

A little walking path around some water....

WITH DUCKS!

(Aspen said, "Hold you, Momma! Ducks, SCARY!!!" hahah TERRIFYING!)

I don't know what this thing is, but it is really leaking. There is water actively coming out of it. I'm sending a message to the parks people, but I am curious. Does anybody know what it is???

Playground!

Two baby swings. Unfortunately, the big kid swings were nonexistent. You can see where they once hung, though. Too bad for me!

We spent most of our time today on this little 4-way seesaw. Fun!

The football field is really beautiful and well-maintained. It is locked, so you can't go in and vandalize it! Teenagers are foiled, once again! :)

Covered pavilion with bathrooms, and I imagine, a concession stand during Pop Warner season.

I decided I'd like to install one of these little numbers between my children and my desk. It will give me a bit more time to get things done. :)

I didn't spend much time sitting on the bench. It wasn't so comfortable.

I tried to take a picture of this piece of equipment. I'm not sure what it is. It's a bar that goes straight across, with nothing on it. It doesn't look like anything is missing either. Also, there are no ladders to climb up the sides. Any thoughts?

Bye bye!

Well, Adolph Wurn was a fun little park. Unfortunately, there was some litter throughout the park and some other obvious problems (leak, bench, swings, etc.). On the other hand, it is clear that this is a well-used park, so that sort of thing is going to happen in a park that is frequented by the locals. I'd like to go back on a Pop Warner day just to see how the place is hoppin!

Anyway, I'd say it's worth checking out!

Here is its website, and its amenities are listed below.

Park Amenities

Amenity	Count
Basketball Lighted	1
Benches	10
Bike racks	2
Bleachers	2
Car Parking	86
Concession Stand	1
Football	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic Tables	2
Playground Equipment	6
Restrooms	1
Security Lighting
Swimming Pools	1

Back to School - Week 11! THANKSGIVING BEGINS!

2011-11-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well, we are diverting from our buggy course to focus this month on THANKSGIVING! This week, our crafts will be focused on Native Americans. Next week, we'll focus more on the pilgrims. I'll be taking Thanksgiving week off completely. :)

There is also a little activity for Veteran's Day in this week's plan.

Anyway, here's the plan! Enjoy!

Post-October 31 Thoughts

2011-11-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Boy am I glad that's over! ;) For the past few years, the weeks leading up to Halloween have made me very sad, not because of Halloween itself, but because of satan's success at dividing the believers. In some ways, I think this might be the worst evil of Halloween... distracting us from our mission and setting us at odds with one another. I hate to see that. I don't know that I could really categorize myself as being on either "side" of the issue. Like with most things, I think I have a unique opinion and conviction, and I can only do what I feel that the Holy Spirit has led me to do.

Anyway, I know several people who are feeling hurt and wounded since some Halloween "discussions" on Facebook. I also know several people who are bold and passionate about sharing their convictions, and I absolutely respect that. I am the same way about all sorts of things. I have hurt and offended more than my fair share, and I have had ample opportunities to humble myself, apologize for the wound (regardless of the fact that my conviction was unchanged), and pursue unity. Social networking really stinks sometimes. (The irony of my making this statement in a blog is not lost on me! hahah) We lose a lot in translation. The written word tends to come across much more harshly than most of us intend. We can put one another on the defensive and cause pain to our brothers and sisters without even knowing it. I'm sure all of us have simply read something on Facebook (Halloween related or not) and been hurt by it. We never left a comment, so the writer probably had absolutely NO idea, and also, no chance to repair the relationship. This line of thinking made me remember John 13:34-35: "³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So, what impression do our "discussions" give the unbeliever? Do they recognize our love? Granted, there are times when a hard word IS love, and certainly, this could be one of them. I am just praying that is how these things are perceived by those who do not know our God... or that since we "discussed" publicly, we take the time to also love publicly.

I waited to share anything publicly until it was over, just to avoid further division in the body. I did not feel particularly prompted to share much of anything, but to pray and let the Holy Spirit do His thing. Now, I'll give you my two cents. I'm not saying that my convictions aren't subject to change. I hope that I always continue to grow in spirit and in truth, and that may mean I have a different view on this at some point... but here is what I feel the Lord has shown me for now.

Halloween means nothing to me. October 31 is a date on the calendar, like any other day... and like any other day, it belongs to God. Since "Halloween" is not the standard around which I am planning my day, it is rather irrelevant. October 31 fell on a Monday this year, and that is the day that Ephraim and I go to 2nd Mile. So, we went to 2nd Mile. God led me to this ministry, to share hope with these kids, so that's what I did. The fact that it was October 31 didn't really change anything. We stopped at Publix on the way home to pick up a few things from my grocery list, and got home around 7:30 p.m. Ephraim and I ate dinner. Everyone else had already done so. After dinner, we harvested seeds from a small pumpkin and toasted them up. Then, we went to bed. Earlier in the month, we attended two fall festivals put on by local churches, and had I not already had a commitment to fulfill on Mondays, I would not have been opposed to attending another one. One of the festivals we attended was at a church where we know many people. We got to fellowship with other believers, the kids got to play some games and get candy, and it was fun. The other festival was just a church that Quincy and the kids happened to drive by. He stopped and met some complete strangers. They got to mutually encourage one another, and the kids enjoyed being able to jump in a bouncy house. Neither of those festivals were held on October 31, but personally (again, this is just my two cents) the date makes no difference to me. I understand and respect the argument that some of these festivals are put on as a sort of "substitute Halloween" for Christians to be able to do something "less evil." I just see it a bit differently. I guess it just goes back to the motives of those putting on the festivals. What is their intent? Maybe I'm naive or think too well of my brothers and sisters in Christ, but I genuinely believe that most of their intentions are just to draw in their community and to make connections with people. They always have you fill out cards, you know. ;) At the second festival, Quincy said that more than one person presented him with the gospel message. So, more power to them.

I feel like we are at another turning point in the Christian faith. I think that the Internet is like the printing press of our time. When early believers gained access to the Bible, it led to major changes in our faith. Our generation has gained access to all sorts of information, thousands of pastors, blogs, and other believers all around the world. It is bound to lead to major changes in our faith, yet again. I am praying that October 31 will be one of those major changes. I wonder what it was like for those early Christians who celebrated Christmas?. It was a pagan holiday, after all. Or Easter, for that matter?. Were their brothers and sisters shouting from the rooftops that they should not be participating in the nonsense of these holidays? I'm sure that many of the Christians who participated did so unknowingly and never bothered to consult God on the matter. On the other hand, there certainly must have been a group of believers who concocted another scheme. Somebody said, "Hey, let's just take the day back. If the pagans are having a big party celebrating pagan stuff, let's have a bigger party celebrating God stuff!" Over time, we really did come to associate Christmas with Christ's birth and Easter with His resurrection. Right or wrong, it is what happened. Is the same thing possible with Halloween? And are we just on the precipice of that change? Call me crazy, but I think it's possible. I don't know what the future will bring, but I am in full support of those believers who are actively working to reclaim the day for the One who makes all the days. Sure, there are lots of Christians who make no effort to share the gospel on October 31 or any day, but there are also some who go out of their way to do so on October 31, specifically because strangers come knocking on their doors. What WOULD Jesus do? It's October 31, and a dressed-up child knocks on His door saying, "Trick or Treat!!?" How would He respond? In Matthew 19:14, "¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” What would Jesus do on October 29? Would it look different? Again, it's just my two cents, but the Holy Spirit has convicted me that the date means nothing, and that any time a child comes "knocking on my door," I should open it, and share the only TRUE treat with them - Jesus Christ.

Paul said, in I Corinthians 9:19-23, "¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." If people who do not know my God come flocking to my door on October 31, I will answer the door. I will not turn them away. Honestly, there is not another day when I would have as easy an opportunity to see many of them, and I'll take the opportunity to share Truth with them. I am so encouraged by my friend's efforts to do just this with October 31 - you can read about it HERE. She is being intentional and genuinely using the day to share the Gospel with her neighbors. It could be easy for her, or any of us, to get caught up in costumes and candy, but as you can see, she is making a genuine effort to connect with her neighbors and share the love of Christ with them. This is a beautiful thing, any day of the year! Who knows? She may have a neighborhood full of gospel-sharers in just a few years, and they may have to move to other neighborhoods just to get customers! ;)

I don't know how God convicts you to handle October 31. I don't know if you've ever brought the issue to Him. I DO know that my brothers and sisters who have gone before Him and sought His direction on the issue have received it. I respect that they are doing as He leads, whether we agree or not. I know that the Bible speaks to our unity, many times, for reasons like these. I have thought a great deal about the entire chapter of Romans 14, as it relates to this topic, and many others.

¹ Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”^[b]
¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. ¹⁴ I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. ²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. ²¹ It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
²² So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.^[c]

I plan to take some time to reflect on the Halloween discussions I've had on Facebook this year, the things I've read and considered harsh or hurtful, and the things I've written that could have been harsh or hurtful. I will be asking God to show me if there is anything I need to make right, and I'll be seeking His guidance in furthering His goal of UNITY within the body of Christ. I'd like to encourage you to do the same. If you haven't been party to any of it or have some other take on the subject, I ask you to pray for us. Pray for the body. Pray for UNITY.

Join me in praying as Jesus prayed in John 17.
²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

...that the world will know...

MUCH LOVE, my brothers and sisters! So excited to move into a season of THANKSGIVING with all of you!

Great Park Adventure - Lonnie Wurn Boat Ramp

2011-11-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Today, the windiest day ever recorded (lie), we went to a park right on the St. Johns River, the Lonnie Wurn Boat Ramp! The park was completely graffiti-free and litter-free. SERIOUSLY. They have playground equipment, swings, slides, a covered pavilion, and a boat ramp. There are tennis courts and a pool adjacent to the park, but so is the Ft. Caroline Club, and I'm not exactly sure who owns what. :)

The only negative is that this park is also home to a gang of wily cats.... which somebody feeds. I didn't get a picture of it, but there are at least 10 of them, and at least that many cat food bowls set out just inside the park. So, if you are not a cat lover, don't go to Lonnie Wurn! They were nowhere near the playground equipment and paid us no mind, but you've been given fair warning.

This is another one of those places I remember from teenage shenaniganizing, but it looks like the city has done a really good job upgrading the fences to keep folks out at night. Way to go, COJ! Stick it to the teenagers! (For real.) ;)

I hope you enjoy our pictures. I added in a few extra special ones of myself...

You can tell it was windy just by how choppy the St. Johns River looks in this picture!

I tried going across on this zip line, but it was really rusty. I'd slide about 2 feet and LOUDLY SCREEEEEEECH to a stop, and do it again. ;)

Way harder than monkey bars.

Yes, I'm swinging on the swing next to her, while I let my 4-year-old push my 1-year-old.

This girl KNOWS how to celebrate coming down a slide!

To illustrate the wind...

It made my face contort into weird positions.

Ahhhh, my eyes! (PS - it did smell kinda fishy at this park, don't know if that was the river or the cat food, though)

And, for fun, my post-park hairstyle.

Lonnie Wurn was tons of fun! Go check it out!

Here is the park's website, and its amenities are listed below.

Park Amenities

Amenity	Count
Benches	4
Boat docks	1
Boat Ramps	1
Boat Trailer Parking	9
Car Parking	12
Fishing Available
Manatee Education
Pedestrian Docks	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	1
Picnic Tables	6
Playground Equipment	3
Security Lighting

Back to School - Week 10! INSECT WEEK!

2011-10-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Last week, we learned all about SPIDERS! Ephraim was VERY excited. Naturally, in our reading and learning, we discovered that spiders are NOT insects. Insects have 6 legs, and spiders have 8, among other differences. Not surprisingly, Ephraim asked what types of things ARE insects. (I was anticipating this question and preparing for insect week. Two points for me!)

Obviously, there are many, many types of insects, but we are going to take the week to do a broad overview. This may extend into a couple more weeks, depending on the questions that arise, or it may go in a completely different direction. This is one of the beauties of homeschooling. I am able to foster my child's love for learning by following his interests to create lesson plans, rather than lesson plans that disregard his interests. ;)

So, HERE is this week's lesson plan.

We are continuing the same memory verse from last week, although Ephraim has already memorized it. It continues to be relevant and appropriate. In our reading last week, Ephraim discovered that if we did not have spiders, the world would be overrun with bugs. So, he said, "Mom, that's why God made spiders and said they were good!" YESSSSSSS!!! This week, we'll try to figure out some of the reasons He made insects and said they were good. ;)

Also, I think I failed to post the link for this last week, but we are continuing to review Dolch Pre-Primer Sight Words, using these flash cards. Ephraim still has to sound out a few of these words, so I am just going to keep reviewing them until he's mastered them all. Then, we will move on to the next level. This is just a simple, easy way to keep moving forward with the reading skills he's gained through "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons."

Anyway, hope you have a very buggy week! :)

Great Park Adventure - Crabtree Park

2011-10-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

The Great Park Adventure took us to the Lakewood area today, where we visited Crabtree Park. I have to say, it was a PERFECT park day. Crabtree has lots of amenities, including a playground, swings, a baseball field, and two basketball courts. The park was clean, shady, and totally graffiti-free. It was really great. Seriously. Go check it out sometime!

Now, I don't know if all other parents secretly do this when they visit parks without other parents watching, but I am a full participant. I slide on all the slides, test out the swings, climb ladders and twisty things, and dangle helplessly from the monkey bars.... but as of today, I have decided there is one thing that I will never do again. Read on.

As you can see, Crabtree has the slightly older playground equipment with metal slides. They are super fun in this weather, but I imagine my opinion would have been different had we visited in July. It is still REALLY shady though, so it might not be so bad. :)

Plenty of swings, all in working order. There was, however, one baby swing that had been thrown over the top bar. We weren't tall enough to untangle it, but it appeared to be just fine. :)

There's a nice little covered pavilion for your parties and whatnot.

You are free to make fish faces at Crabtree park. So, that's good news.

You can also pretend to be in toddler jail, which is fun.

And here it is.... the thing I will NEVER do again. Every couple of weeks, I decide to crawl through one of these tubes again, thinking that my memory of hurting knees from last time was just a fluke. Well, it's not. It's time to face the facts, momma. You are too old to go crawling through these tubes. My knees hurt SO bad after one crawl through this 6 foot tube that I swore them off forever. If you ever catch me in one again, or if you are at the park with me and I start rationalizing reasons to enter, just slap me in the face. Seriously. Permission granted in advance.

It's fun if you're a toddler and can practically walk or sit on your patootie, but it's no fun for a momma! Who's with me!?!?

I started considering installing a dugout somewhere to trap my children when I need to clean or get other things done. They would be happy and just feel like they were on a special baseball team. What are your thoughts?.

Anyway, other than the knee incident, we had LOTS of fun at Crabtree Park! Go check it out!

Here is its website, and its amenities are listed below.

Park Amenities

Amenity	Count
Baseball Youth	1
Basketball	1
Basketball Lighted	1
Benches	9
Bleachers	3
Grills	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic Tables	2
Playground Equipment	2
Security Lighting
Softball Youth	1
Trash Barrels	6

Back to School - Week 9! SPIDER WEEK!

2011-10-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

We have FINALLY finished "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons!" Yay! I am SO glad! We are now switching over to themed lesson plans. I've been sort of cataloging things that Ephraim is interested in so that our lessons will be interesting to him and help foster a love of learning. Basically, four-year-olds have a wide variety of interests and ask lots of questions. When he asks something I don't know, like, "How do spiders make webs?" I make a mental note. Later, we'll find out. I want him to realize that he can investigate and learn about ANYTHING. I want him to LOVE learning. Personally, I feel like Pre-K should still be rather unstructured because they are really young (contrary to what my lesson plans may lead you to believe!). The way each of these activities fit into our life are pretty rhythmic, throughout the day... and if he's not feeling it, I don't make a big deal of it. We move on.

The thing that he is and has been most interested in lately is SPIDERS. Mainly, he wants to know how the spider bit Peter Parker and turned him into Spiderman. Obviously, we'll save the answer to that question for the grand finale! ;) This is a great time of year to learn about spiders, though. They are everywhere! I've got a list of things he's interested in to learn about for the next several weeks, and each week will be based upon a different theme.

Quincy will be continuing on with the Calvary Chapel Curriculum, which they mainly do through morning/bedtime devotionals, and that is basically unrelated to our theme. He does review the Calvary Chapel memory verse, but they don't focus a lot on memorization/repetition. I have found a verse that I think will coincide well with spider week, and we'll work on memorizing it together. I've edited the verse to make it a bit shorter and kid-friendly, but I think it is appropriate for a four-year-old and spider week.

Last year, we did lots of letter-related themes, which helped him to be very well-prepared for reading. This year, it's time to expand our minds a little more!

Once I've decided upon a theme, here's what I do. Go to the Jacksonville Public Library Website. Log in using my library card. Search the catalog. I search for "spider" as my keyword. I select "Children's Picture Book" as my category. I then see what pops up. I look through the books, do some quick internet research, and choose the ones that I want to read. I then place them on hold using the library's online hold system. I am doing this two weeks prior to when I need them. Usually, the library is really fast about having holds ready for pickup. They send me an email, and I go get them. Library books are checked out for 3 weeks, so it's plenty of time... and if I need them longer, I can renew them online as well! For the NONFICTION books, I just type in "spider" as my keyword, choose "Nonfiction" as my category, and select "Juvenile" as my reading level. This will show me where spiders are filed in the nonfiction section. The books were mostly in 595.44. On one of our library days, I just cruise on over to that section and pick out the ones I like the best. I also check out this same section in the readers portion of the children's library. Sometimes you can find level 1 nonfiction books that early readers can handle all on their own. Lots of the nonfiction books will still be a bit too difficult or long for Ephraim, so we'll read sections, summarize, and check out the pictures.

I have also heard a rumor that the children's librarians are happy to put together a box of themed books for you, so go talk it over with your local librarian! FYI, in case you are working with an even younger child, there are TONS of phonics books available that teach just about a certain letter. Ephraim and I read about a zillion of those.

I love the library. I think it is one of the best resources available to us as homeschoolers. So, before you go buy a book, check it out from the library! For the record, we started "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" with a copy from our local library. There are also several homeschool teaching resources, kids craft books, and kids cookbooks available.

Finally, HERE is this week's lesson plan!

Have a creepy week, spider friends!

Back to School - Week 8!

2011-10-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's lesson plan.

THANK YOU JESUS, we are finishing "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons!" It really is a great book for teaching reading, but I am SO BORED with it.

There's a change in my schedule this week. Our library got hit with a budget cut, so they are closed on Wednesday mornings. Preschool Family Story Time has switched to Thursday mornings. I'm cool with it.

Anyway, I don't have much to say right now because I'm feeling really lazy and would like to watch excessive amounts of TV and eat chocolate. Don't judge. You know you feel the same way.

Back to School - Week 7!

2011-10-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's lesson plan.

So, Quincy's been jumping around a bit with this Bible curriculum since it is overlapping the original one that we were using, which is fine. Ephraim loves doing Bible time with his Daddy, and I know Quincy loves teaching him.

Since Columbus Day is this week, I thought I'd share some FREE Columbus Day activities I've found on the web.

Coloring Pages

Book List

A Fun Skit

Ship Crafts and "Sh" coloring pages

Crafts, Printables, and a HUGE variety of activities

Milk Carton Spanish Galleon

Christopher Columbus Story for Little Ones (This site, TeachersPayTeachers, is a favorite of mine! Lots of free activities there, created by teachers and homeschoolers, all grade levels.)

From Pinterest:

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Susan on Pinterest

Source: orientaltrading.com via Rainy on Pinterest

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Innovative on Pinterest

And this last one is $5.00, but it looks REALLY cute! :)

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Carla on Pinterest

I hope school is going well at your house!

Happy Columbus Day! :)

Great Park Adventure - St. Nicholas Playground

2011-10-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

We had SO much fun at this park today! I highly recommend a visit, especially in this GORGEOUS weather!

This is a tangent, but we drove behind the Weinermobile on our way! Yes, I took pictures while driving. :)

Anyway, St. Nicholas Playground was very clean, with minimal graffiti, and there were a few other people there, running the path that surrounds the park and playing on the swings. It is always encouraging when you see others making use of the park! :)

This park has plenty of playground equipment to maximize your fun factor, but be aware that it does sit in sand, rather than wood chips or rubber mulch. Aspen dumped out her shoes when we got back in the car. :) It was pretty shady when we were there, but I imagine that a few hours later, the sun would have been beating down on us! St. Nicholas Playground also has baseball fields, swings, and basketball courts.

Oopsy! This was broken. :(

HILARIOUS!

Sun head!

Fossils! (and graffiti)

I appreciated this graffiti. It says, "Stop Saying Bad Words." HAHAHA! I love the irony of the graffiti artist advising the potty mouth. Kids...

Something's not quite right about that.

So, as we came up to this bit of equipment, we jumped right on.... and then we saw....

DANGER!

Oops. The caution tape is on the back and has mostly fallen off. Don't climb on this thing. Not safe. Incidentally, Aspen kept climbing on all the equipment saying "dangerous, dangerous" over and over. First, it is funny to hear a one-year-old saying "dangerous." Secondly, I guess I am warning her a lot, or she thinks dangerous = fun. :)

Aspen was a bit afraid of the swings today! Yikes!

As we drove away, we saw these shoes on the power lines. So, if you need some, go grab them!

As I said, we had a ton of fun at St. Nicholas Playground today. I'd highly recommend you check it out! Fun times!

Here is the park's website, and its amenities.

Park Amenities

Amenity	Count
Basketball Lighted	1
Benches	4
Bike racks	1
Bleachers	6
Car Parking	20
Drinking Fountain
Perimeter Site Fencing
Playground Equipment	6
Restrooms	1
Security Lighting
Softball Adult Lighted	1
Softball Youth	1
Trails Paved (Miles)	0

No Images found.

Back to School - Week 6! (and a little bit of soapboxing)

2011-10-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here's the lesson plan for week 6! (Also, make sure you enter to win the free scrapbooking software on my other blog!)

I thought I'd be a little more specific by adding what days we plan to do each of the crafts and activities. Also, I updated the Bible curriculum to reflect the updated curriculum on the Calvary Chapel website.

You'll notice that I do not have a craft or activity noted for Monday. Wanna know why!?!? Well, on Mondays, Ephraim and I head out to 2nd Mile Ministries After School Program, two: fifty two. Educationally, Biblically, relationally, this is good for us! We spend the afternoon with second through fourth graders, helping with homework, learning about Jesus, and loving on them! One of the things that God has really pressed on my heart, over and over again, is that if I want my children to be servants, I have to model servanthood for them. If I want them to give of their time, energy, or money, I have to show them how to do it. So, that is certainly part of what 2nd Mile is to us. Also, more simply, God has called us to care for those less fortunate. We are daily given the choice to either obey or disobey this command. There are many, many opportunities for serving others in our community and beyond. In my opinion, the lesson of serving is the most important one that I teach throughout the week. I want my son to know that our faith is real beyond Bible stories at home. I want him to understand that our faith calls us to action, outside our home. It compels us to take part in the world around us.

It hit me this week how blessed I am to be alive at "such a time as this." I was just thinking about the people in my life, and the people in the world who I don't even know, and how God sees those people. They are His creation! He loves them, just like He loves me. He wants them to know Him. He wants them to experience the joy and freedom He has for them. Sometimes, I fail to recognize the people around me in light of their value in my Father's eyes... but consider this. He knows me, and I know Him. He chose me for "such a time as this." He chose me to be alive at the same time as all these other people He adores. He expects me to care for them, love them, do the things He'd want me to do for them. I read on a blog once about a mom giving her oldest child a handful of jelly beans. She then told the child to share with his sister. He did. He gave her ONE jelly bean. We all know that's not what mom meant for him to do. So, what is it that our Father means for us to do? I don't want to be selfish with my jelly beans... and I want my kids to know that people have far greater value than our jelly beans.

If I know you, I am honored that God chose me to be part of your life, because I know how much He adores you. He allowed me to know you, someone He loved so much that He gave up everything. I am humbled at the privilege. I hope you realize your value in His eyes... and I hope your recognition of His love for you makes your chest want to burst wide open and makes it impossible for you to sit on the sidelines, eating your jelly beans...

So as you make your lesson plans, I encourage you to consider what the use of the jelly beans of your time are teaching your little ones.

And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Great Park Adventure - Atlantic Highlands Park and Brackridge Park

2011-09-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today's park adventure was truly a comedy of errors. No worries, though, because I'm actually a "let's go for a drive" kinda gal, so I enjoy even doing that. ;)

We loaded up the van and headed out to Atlantic Highlands Park. On a whim, I decided to swing through the Starbucks drive-thru and treat myself to an iced chai latte (YUM). Ephraim was immediately begging for pumpkin bread, so I indulged him as well. Seemed like a fun day for a rare treat! Anyway, I doled out pieces of the pumpkin bread to my back-seat riders and drove on to the park. Then, I took a sip of my chai. Um, GROSS. It was not a chai latte. It was a latte, though. I don't do coffee. This was just yuck. I figured I'd just move on with my life and have fun at the park anyway.

This park is truly the most randomly located park I have visited so far. It had no sign marking its presence. Well, there was a park rules sign, but no familiar City of Jacksonville "Atlantic Highlands Park" sign. It was really just a playground in the middle of a trailer park. I have nothing against trailer parks, but this just felt like playing in someone else's yard. There were TONS of trees and shade, which is great in the hot sun; however, early on a muggy day, it just meant everything was SOAKING wet... and worse, MOSQUITO CENTRAL! It's right off the intracoastal, so I'm henceforth dubbing it "Swamp Park." ;) We seriously stayed there about 5 minutes, got 463 bug bites, and left. :) I'm thankful the city put the park there for the neighborhood kids, but I'm thinking it's not a big destination park for the rest of us. Honestly, I don't even know how I found it. I just turned right a few times, and drove on to some mud. hahah ;) Anyway, here are the pics!

Teenagers. (Don't you like how I always blame teenagers for everything that is wrong at city parks?. Let's get real, though. It's always them.)

I've never seen a swing like this at a park. Pretty cool looking, huh? If it weren't for the gallon of water and mosquito swarm, we might have tried it out. ;)

I really took this picture for Spiderman.

Anyway, since that park didn't work out for us, I decided I'd try again. First, though, I went back to Starbucks. We really hadn't been gone but a few minutes, so they happily replaced my latte with the correct order AND gave me a freebie for next time. Starbucks, for the win!

So, the only other park that popped into my head was one I'd looked at last night online. It was Brackridge Park. It's super far from where we were, but what did I have to lose? Sooooo.... we drove all the way from the intracoastal to Southside and Hogan.... only to find.....

CONSTRUCTION!

And one set of swings.

We didn't bother getting out. There were a zillion construction workers, and since my big kid is still a bit hesitant about swings, I figured it wasn't worth all the gawking (that I'd be doing at them, of course). ;)

I know I've been to this park for a couple of soccer games, and I'm thinking that is all it is used for at this point. So, if you like swings or soccer, go check it out!

Needless to say, our park adventure was more adventure than park today! Woops!

We came home and had an outdoor picnic to make up for it... sort of.

Anyway, here are the park websites and their amenities.

Atlantic Highlands Park

Amenity	Count
Benches	4
Car Parking	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	1
Picnic Tables	3
Playground Equipment	5
Trash Barrels	3

Brackridge Park

Amenity	Count
Bleachers	8
Car Parking	56
Concession Stand	1
Multiuse Field	1
Picnic Tables	5
Playground Equipment	1
Restrooms	1
Security Lighting
Soccer	4
Trash Barrels	5

Better luck next week! ;)

Back to School - Week 5!

2011-09-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's lesson plan.

For the "Chalk Rock Counting" activity, I am basically doing this, but using sidewalk chalk and rocks. This is somewhat similar to last week's M&M graphing activity, and builds on that same skill.

I am REALLY excited that we are almost done with "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." I confess, I am growing very weary of it. ;) I'm also excited to switch over to the unit-style study. Basically, I've been compiling lists of things that Ephraim finds interesting (bugs, spiders, basketball, etc.). I am then finding 10 books related to the topic, since we read 2 books every day. They can be fictional or nonfictional and as loosely related as I'd like. For example, if we are learning about fish one week, we can choose a few nonfiction fish books, but we can also choose books with fish as the main characters, like Nemo. Make sense? Our crafts, art, math, and science activity will all be related to that topic as well. I tend to also add a Biblical perspective on whatever we are doing, so I'll try to figure out how to explain that in an upcoming blog. I will typically spend one week on each topic, but I may go longer if he still seems interested. He's only four, so I don't want to get too crazy (yet). :)

Also, Calvary Chapel has been revamping their curriculum! Although I failed to change it on the spreadsheet for this week's lesson plan, we have switched over to the 1-year Bible study for Little Ones (ages 2-kindergarten). This gives Quincy a little more freedom to use more of the included activities.

Anyway, I hope school is going well in your house!

Great Park Adventure - Bruce Park

2011-09-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today we visited another one of my childhood playgrounds. Fortunately, the thing that I remember most and enjoyed most is still there. Unfortunately, you can't really play in or on it... and the place was a dump. :( Oh well! Times change... and we had fun, regardless. :)

This park has plenty of well-used basketball courts...

And an ever-flowing water fountain... (OOPS!)

And a fun playground, with really no graffiti, so that was cool...

I love that I caught my daughter's funniest facial expressions today. :)

Slides!

Swings! Two big kid swings, and one baby swing.

More basketball courts, baseball fields, and tennis courts

And THIS is what I remember as a child! The train! I remember just a gazillion kids being stuffed inside that thing, climbing and playing all around.

Not so much anymore. There are bars to prevent entrance...

For good reason! Yikes!

It was fun (and slightly dangerous) to climb around on the outside though. :)

This is a covered pavilion where someone was enjoying a nap. HA!

Well, the kids and I have fun wherever we go, but this park was pretty trashed. Literally. Garbage was everywhere. So, I don't necessarily think you should go out of your way to visit, but no worries, there are TONS of other great parks out there!

Here is the park's website, and its amenities, as listed on the site.

Amenity	Count
Baseball Youth	1
Basketball	1
Basketball Lighted	2
Benches	5
Bike racks	2
Bleachers	2
Car Parking	11
Concession Stand	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	2
Picnic Tables	5
Playground Equipment	2
Restrooms	1

Back to School - Week 4!

2011-09-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, last week was pretty rough. We devoted most of our time to dealing with fevers and tonsillitis. So, we did not do our reading lessons, although we kept up with pretty much everything else. So, you'll notice we're repeating those lessons this week.

Here's the plan.

Also, I thought I'd kind of share how Ephraim's day goes, so you know how this works with our life.

He wakes up and I am already working. I grab him some breakfast and let him watch cartoons till his daddy gets up. Quincy and Aspen usually get up an hour or so later. Quincy handles the Bible lessons in our curriculum. He'll read the scripture and talk about the lesson all throughout the week. Anyway, I finish work around 9 a.m., and we get started on our day. Typically, we go for a bike ride or do something outside for at least a few minutes. At 10 a.m., we are doing something (unless it's Monday). We go to the park, library, beach, grocery store, or some place fun. We get back home around lunch time, have lunch, and then I put Aspen down for her nap. As soon as she's asleep, Ephraim and I do the reading lesson together. After we've done the lesson, we read 2 books (of his choosing). Then, we do our craft or math activity. At some point during the day, I will let him play some games on the computer. At bedtime, Quincy spends one-on-one time with him doing the Bible lesson. So, that's basically it. It's really pretty informal, other than the reading lesson. Once we finish this book, I do plan to switch to more of a unit study style, and I'm pretty stoked about that. So, here's to a week of wellness and getting back on track! :)

Back to School - Week 3!

2011-09-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

For those of you following along, here's week 3!

For the Gumball Machine Math Activity, take a look at this link. It is pretty self-explanatory.

For the aluminum foil artwork, check out Luv Boopa later this week. This was one of my favorite things to do as a kid, and I'll share it as a kids craft! :)

By the way, based on the busy-ness of my days, I decide which day is best for which craft/game. We don't repeat them over and over. Every day after we do our reading lesson, we do some sort of creative activity... coloring, at the very least. :)

Anyhoo, hope school's going well for you!

The Book Project, Continued (Books 91-100)

2011-09-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

We did it! We finished the Top 100 Children's Books of All Time! Actually, we'll probably read the "just missed the list" group as well. ;) Anyway, here's what we thought!

My review - Funny little book! George doesn't know how to bark... but you'll see why! And there's a joke at the end that I'm pretty sure only the grown-ups will understand. Check it out!

Ephraim's Review - He was silly because he just barked and he said, "I can't talk," and he said, "Hello." He said "You're crazy."

My review - Okay, I found this book to be hilarious. I think we're going to have to read the whole series. It is actually a collection of "shorts," so you should definitely try it out if you need a laugh.

Ephraim's Review - It is silly because they were trying to play and then they go in the dark silly hippo true of king. (No idea?)

My Review - This is story is taken from a Yiddish song about a fella named Joseph who really loves his coat, so much that he recycles little bits of it into new things constantly. I like a man who sews. Also, I wanted to sing the whole story, but have no rhythm and do not know the tune. ;)

Ephraim's Review - That was crazy, and you are so crazy I don't know what to even do!

My Review - This is one of the books that I remember loving as a child. So funny. That Miss Nelson will get those kids every time!

Ephraim's Review - That was silly because she just had a costume on, and the kids like you said, "You're crazy! I don't even know you!" That was funny at one point.

My Review - This book was geared toward a little younger children, but it was cute and might just help your little sheep to fall asleep. ;)

Ephraim's Review - It is really funny because the sheep never sleeped, and sheeps are never supposed to sleep.

My Review - This one was a wee bit scary, but the message is about how to handle tough times, so I could see it being a really useful teaching tool.

Ephraim's Review - That was pretty silly because the fish never came back until a shell came and the antler popped out of it.

My Review - Classic story! Everyone should read it!

Ephraim's Review - The elephants are naked because he's naked. So, he runs away and never comes back until summer today. (hahah. He found the dichotomy of city elephant in clothes and country elephant without clothes to be very funny.)

My Review - This is a funny little twist on the classic story. The ending is quite surprising as well! I think it would be fun to read all the pig/wolf stories and their spoofs at once! :)

Ephraim's Review - That's mixed up! The big bad wolf never came back to he throwed a dynamite at his backpack. That's why he got him with dynamite, but he didn't hurt so bad because he's a pig. He eats mud to help him go bad.

My Review - Well, a baby owlet dies in this story... and I'm always bummed when there's sad stuff in kid stories... but alas! It is an African folktale with the message that even one little mosquito can cause a whole lot of trouble!

Ephraim's Review - Why do mosquitoes buzz in ears? Because they are crazy, so they are peers. (He doesn't know the word "peers," he was coming up with a rhyming word for ears, and I'm pretty sure "peers" is entirely made up in his mind.)

Ephraim really wanted to type something. So, enjoy.

ephraim p,mn

(I suppose the "p,mn" is some sort of childhood credential.)

Back to School - Week 2!

2011-09-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well, you asked for it!

This is our plan for week two of school!

Happy Labor Day!

(Source)

Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

2011-08-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

Have trouble with your kiddos at the grocery store? I have the answer! Engage them and make grocery shopping fun! I also count this as a weekly homeschooling lesson in nutrition. It also is an extra reading opportunity and lesson in colors, flavors, and on and on. It counts! :)

Anyway, I've made a bunch of different Word documents with clip art pictures of different food items. The possibilities are endless. I put twelve pictures on a page and print it on card stock and allow my big boy to hunt for the items while we shop. You could also laminate the games and use a dry erase marker in order to make them reusable. Unfortunately, Ephraim has to deal with little lady at the store, and she would just fight him for the marker the whole time.... so, for now, the games are disposable. (She gets one, too.) He can mark off items as he finds them, and the goal is to find them all before we check out. Fun! It reduces the "Can-I-Haves" by approximately 150 requests. ;)

Intentionally, I put all sorts of different kinds of food on the games, in order to be able to ask, "Is that a healthy choice?" and have discussions about nutritious choices. You could give a reward at the end of the game, but my method is more about the "challenge" of finding all the items before checkout.

Anyway, here are three of my games. I try to change them out really regularly to keep things fresh. Obviously, they are SUPER easy to make yourself. Hope this makes your grocery shopping a little easier!

Grocery Store Game 1

Grocery Store Game 2

Grocery Store Game 3

Back to School - Week 1!

2011-08-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we actually never stopped doing little lessons, but now that public school has started back, I decided to do a more formal lesson plan for Ephraim for Pre-K. We will be homeschooling him, and as a former teacher, I have lots of thoughts and ideas on the topic.

I am a fan of the Montessori method, Charlotte Mason style learning, whole language (or literature based) learning, crafts, hands-on activities, and child-led learning.

Also, I am a fan of plans and lists! ;) I have planned through the end of October, but obviously, these plans will morph and change as time goes on (especially science - since my plan is to follow his interests). My main focus is still on reading, and helping Ephraim to become a fluent reader. Everything else follows that, anyway!

I have purchased no formal curriculums, and honestly, after seeing most of them doing homeschool evaluations, there is nothing that I would be compelled to spend a fortune on. I will say, though, if you are not naturally organized or if you have lots of other young children, a highly structured curriculum may be right up your alley! Whatever you choose, do what works for YOUR family. I'll be sharing what works for ours!

If you'd like me to continue posting what we do, I will. As you can see below, some of the activities span the entire week. That is because, as I said, my main focus is READING. The other activities will take place on one or more of the days. The Bible lesson will be done by Quincy, and since there are many activities, children's Bibles, and other ways to easily supplement, they will talk about that particular lesson all week.

Here's week one!

Great Park Adventure - Pickwick Park

2011-08-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

What a fun day at Pickwick Park! This is a beautiful little park, but it is a bit difficult to find. We were meeting lots of friends, and I guess everyone got lost. haha! We all did eventually arrive there, and we were all late. So, take that as advanced warning.

Apparently, the park has multiple names, but I only found Pickwick Park listed on the City of Jacksonville website.

This park has super cool, giant climbing rocks!

And plenty of playground equipment, for big or little kids!

One of our little friends!

There are swings for big kids and swings for babies.

The park is completely fenced, which some of our friends also found to be great fun! ;)

Not pictured, there are a few pavilion areas with covered picnic tables, where we ate lunch and little lady tried to bust her head open. She didn't quite do it, thank you Jesus!. :)

The park also opens into this large expanse of walking path/gym equipment. Great place for an outdoor workout!

Or to eat a carrot.

Or to have a race! GO!

Some kids made up their own rules.

Some other kids stuck it out to the finish.

Way to go, runners!

Anyway, Pickwick was really clean, secluded, had plenty of shade, and was lots of fun!

Here is the park's website. Unfortunately, its amenities are not listed. Warning: There are no bathrooms at Pickwick, so potty before you go!

Little Erin - A Story of LIFE!

2011-07-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 23, 2011, I was sitting downstairs working as I heard my cell phone vibrate over the monitor. I continued on with what I was doing and planned to check it later. As I waited for a file to load, I checked Facebook and saw that my lifelong friend, Ashley, posted the following status.

"Erin was found floating in a pool, CPR was done, she spit up water, started crying and is headed to Baptist. Morgan doesn't have her phone. Please tell everyone you know!! Pray for this baby!!!!"

WHAT!? Immediately, I realized that Ashley must have called me. I started praying for Erin right away. You see, Ashley and I have been friends since we were 12 years old. I suppose Morgan was 9 or 10. I could say that Morgan and I have been friends that long as well, or I could honestly admit that she was just my best friend's bratty little sister. ;) She is one of the people I've known the longest, and because of how close we were as kids and teenagers, I consider her just about as close to a sister as I'll ever have.

UGH. I was freaking out for Morgan, just praying that little Erin was okay, and that her brain was whole. I was actually there when Erin was born. I don't want to get into the way that Morgan gives birth, because it might just confuse people and make them think it is nothing more serious than a walk in the park, but it was a special birth for me, because I was pregnant and due with Ransom right around the same time she was pregnant and due with Erin. Honestly, that memory popped into my head as I prayed for her, and I thought, "Lord, let her stay with us."

As status updates kept coming, they were growing more positive and less urgent, and I was relieved. Thank you, God, for saving this little girl.

The following day, Morgan and Eddy (Erin's parents) posted some of their experience on Facebook. I cried as I read their experiences, and I want you to have the chance to read them as well. Since their profiles were set to private, I got their permission to share here. Be encouraged!

This was the first thing I read on Sunday morning, written by Eddy.

"Never in my life have I felt such sorrow than I feel tonight. I really believed, when I saw her lifeless body, that she was gone forever. The feeling of hopelessness angered me and I physically tried to destroy the pavilion. When I started screaming I wanted to make sure that God heard me, I wanted his full attention. I wanted to make sure that he heard what was about to exit my lips. "Oh God not my Erin, please God not Erin, give her life." What I heard next was her hero, my Uncle Julio Jimenez say, "Eddy, she's breathing." I continued sobbing and I heard my Uncle say with urgency, "Eddy! She's breathing, get over here, she's needs to know you're here son!" I immediately got up and knelt by her side listening to her wheezing. I put my hand palm down on her chest just to feel her lungs breathing in and out. I had to make sure for myself that my angel was in fact breathing. And she was. Shock took over and I knew at any second that I would be awakened by her. She's usually the first running into the room in the morning screaming, "Daaad, Daaad!" But then I heard sirens, and a few seconds later, a stranger dressed in blue picking her up and running to Engine 150. That's when I knew that I, and the rest of us there, were living in our worst nightmare. If it were not for the heroics of Julio Jimenez, my Uncle, Erin's hero, I, along with countless others, would be grieving a terrible loss. God in his unfailing grace, used Uncle Julio in a way in which, I will be eternally grateful. And laying here with my wife and my living, breathing Erin, is truly a blessing. Thank you God for hearing me. Thank you God for extending your Grace to my family. Once again you amaze me."

Late Sunday night, Morgan shared her point of view.

"I know there are a lot of people who are curious about what happened last night. I have no problems talking about it and I wanted to share the details while it is still fresh in my memory. I can only speak for myself here but I feel like talking about it has helped the healing.

Last night we celebrated my mother in law's 50th birthday party at her neighborhood pool. At 9pm I had walked to their house to take Jordy to the potty and left Erin in the care of my mother. Eddy and I bypassed one another as he was returning with Caiden doing the same thing. When I returned, I told Eddy we need to get going, and by the looks of it everyone else was leaving too. At this point Eddy had removed Erin's water wings in preparation of us leaving. Eddy had written a special note for his mother that he wanted to read before we left. We took care of that promptly. I never recalled seeing Erin when I returned from the house but it didn't say much because Erin had been all over the place all night. For some weird reason I felt uneasy about her absence because of it being so dark. I know now that it was only the Holy Spirit prompting my curiosity of her whereabouts because like most of you know, they are always accounted for when it really matters. Surely we won't be that family whose child dies or gets kidnapped. All night I kept feeling worried about her for some reason and Eddy kept assuring me she was fine. My first instinct was the park connecting to the pavilion/pool area. I went to the park calling her name and heard nothing. I was still pretty calm but managed to ask Eddy if he saw her at the pool and he said she wasn't there. Eddy's sister was trailing close behind him double checking everything and started to walk with him away from the pool. She later told me that she didn't know why but she felt the spirit tugging at her to take a double look in the pool. From the moment I first asked where she was, about 30 seconds had gone by when I heard the terrible news. “Morgan, Oh my God she's in the pool!” What happened next is something you only experience in your worst nightmares. I sprinted from one side of the gate to the other as Jennifer pulled my precious baby from the water yelling in hysterics. She was limp, she was blue and she had no pulse. The noises that came out of me were uncontrollable. “Oh God no, no, no no!!! Oh God! Jennifer put her down!!” I knew CPR couldn't begin in her arms and I started to walk away screaming for someone to call 911. I don't want want my last memories of Erin to be spent watching her dead body on the concrete. I kept looking around for someone to comfort me. But all I saw was panic. She was dead and nobody could do anything about it. The next thought that came to my mind was from the devil himself. This is your fault, you have too many kids. I stopped immediately and got flat on my face before the Lord and I remember praying, Lord what do I pray for?! Help me! And then it began, something that cannot be explained by man. A perfect peace that truly surpasses all understanding. Then the prayers began as though I put no effort into them, Lord nothing happens apart from your will. I believe that your Hand is in this! I had made my peace that my baby was dead and I realized in that very moment that while it was such a terrible pain I would be okay despite hating it with the fiercest of hate. God's promise came ringing into my ears, all things happen to the glory of God to those who love Him! And then I thought about his deliberate sacrifice of his very own son. How horrible he must have felt, and then it hit me. God you lost a child, and now I have lost a child. You will carry me through this storm and you will receive Glory. You know how I feel! Please help me. I then ran to the street to wait for the ambulance. It was then that I began brainstorming how I would cope with this loss. First I would get rid of all her clothes, and Devyn would wear nothing of Erin's. Next I would have to get rid of her bed, her passies and her blankets and all of her favorite toys. How did I become that parent?! The one everyone snickers about saying “Where were the stupid parents when this happened?”...How was I that mom now?! You know that you do it, we all do. I realized then I was collapsed in the middle of the road alone. I was thinking of all the people in their homes perfectly safe, and I had just lost my baby. I just wanted someone to comfort me. And then came another answer to prayer. My brother in law hopping the fence telling me my baby is breathing and holding me as I sobbed. He is telling me she was okay, but all I kept thinking was how brain damaged would she be?? When did she go missing? How long was she under?! As the ambulance came I ran back to where she was, she was crying and she had pooped and peed on herself. Eddy's uncle had done CPR on her the entire time and said her heart had not beat for 2 minutes solid. My first thought was, how long was it not beating in the water?! Eddy hopped on the ambulance, and for once I wished I weren't breastfeeding Devyn. I don't remember them carrying her off, but I stopped to comfort Caiden a moment before I rushed off to the hospital. What a horrible thing to see at his age. I get to the hospital and Erin is awake. She is crying to go bye bye and wants to get off of her table. I was not shocked to see her alive, but I was shocked to see her talking to me. I saw her bathing suit in a ball on the floor and asked them to dispose of it. Never again do I want to see my baby in that suit. My sister in law said Erin was floating head down but she almost didn't see her because it looked more like a life jacket than a person. I hated that of all people she was the one to pull Erin's lifeless body out of the pool but praise God for his prompting in her spirit to do sol. As the night progressed, Erin was fussing over juice cups and asking for Yo Gabba Gabba. I knew she was going to be okay.

I later learned this morning that 2 people had noted Erin being present as I read the letter to Eddy's mom. It was exactly half a page length and took no more than a minute and a half to read. We don't know exactly when she wandered away, how long she played on the step before she drowned, or how long she struggled before she quit breathing...but my closest estimates are 2-2.5 minutes from the moment she walked away to the moment she was pulled from the water. Maybe less. We are so blessed because it could have been so much worse. You never think this will happen to you.

I am forever grateful for God's grace on my Erin and my family, but we have been left distraught. I did not lose my Erin forever, but for a short 5 minutes I did. And that feeling has left a hole in my heart that will take time to heal. So please pray for us, all of our friends and family that were present.

I believe that my God is a Sovereign God, and a God of divine intervention. Today at the hospital we met another couple whose baby also drowned yesterday. Her parents are close in age to me and Eddy, and like Erin baby Bristol was only 2. It was her second birthday in fact. We are so blessed for our daughters recovery. So I ask again that you pray for this precious family. Kayla, Mike and Bristol. I can't begin to tell you the comfort I received in knowing another mom who felt exactly like me. We exchanged few words mostly rehashing our experiences...but it left me feeling peaceful. And again, in his divine sovereignty I discover that I have been friends with one of her cousins for years.

When I close my eyes to sleep, I hear Jennifer, I see Erin being pulled from the water blue and limp less and I hear my scream. It replays over and over like a record and I can't make it stop. I am praying for rest for me and Bristols family tonight.

Erin is completely back to normal, sleeping on the sofa right now actually. This little girl has one powerful testimony and I know the Lord has great plans for her!! Thank you Abba!

Thank you so much for your prayers, and your encouraging words. It gave me great strength when I needed it most. He is my strength and my rock!!"

Finally, Eddy shared this on Monday, writing to his sister.

"Jennifer, I want to thank you for double checking the pool after I frantically searched for Erin. If it weren't for you, the entire incident would've turned out much worse. Jen, thank you so much for staying calm long enough to grab Erin out of the water, allowing her to get the attention she needed. I love you so much and I always will!"

This may or may not seem significant to you, but I can assure you that even the momentary thought that you might lose your child can change your life forever! I believe in a God of resurrection, and I believe that this little girl was raised from death by Him. The lyrics from "You Alone Can Rescue" by Matt Redman are playing over and over in my mind. The hands of Eddy's sister were the hands of God, lifting little Erin from the watery grave. The breath of Uncle Julio, the breath of God, giving life to her lungs. Isn't it amazing that the God of the Universe would let ordinary people like us be HIS hands and breathe HIS life-giving breath!!??! Thank you, Lord, for letting us be a part of your story. Thank you for Erin's life, again!

Tonight, we'll gather at the park and celebrate Erin's life. I know that Morgan and Eddy would be honored to have you join us! We'll be at Ed Austin Regional Park at 6 pm. Join us if you just want to celebrate the God of LIFE!

Overwhelmed!

2011-07-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

When I am stressed out, anxious, and overwhelmed, I tend to write. Read at your own risk. I will now emotionally vomit, beginning with my own insignificant issues, and moving on to the big things.

Since yesterday, the rather insignificant issues have included sleeplessness (duh), child with concussion, argument over treating said child with concussion, air conditioning going out at rental home, and flat tire. Very selfishly, I do not appreciate this bombardment of "issues." I am on edge.

So, in the midst of all that, I feel like all the people I love the most are having major crises. Tonight, one of my friends, a friend who is as close as a sister as I will ever have, found her 2-year-old floating facedown in a pool. They resuscitated her and took her to the hospital. She is stable now. Hopefully, she will be fine, but this is just a scary and overwhelming situation! I have several friends in serious marital distress. Families are being attacked and falling apart all around us! I have friends with all sorts of workplace drama and difficulty to wade through. I genuinely feel like all the people I love the most are in the midst of some sort of serious struggle, the type of struggle that is beyond any of our own abilities to solve.

Hope remains. God is still God. I have no answers or thoughts other than His Word, so I'll leave you with that.

Lamentations 3:21-26 - "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD."

Great Park Adventure - Victory Park

2011-07-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is going to be the first time I ever recommend NOT going to a park. Don't go to this park. There was something shady about it, and I don't mean the trees!

You see, there was this fella just watching us the whole time we were there. I didn't want to alarm my children, and I'm not a particularly fearful person, so I was ready to shank him if it came to it, but it was still very strange. He was on his cell phone most of the time and I overheard things like "Wait a few minutes. They are still here." That's always comforting. This park has a pavilion area with bathrooms and some other indoor area that was closed off for maintenance. I could see that one of the doors had been bent and that the wire mesh had been broken off one of the "windows." I don't know what is going on inside that building, but I'm guessing something is happening in there. This park adventure felt more like investigative reporting or detective work. Anyway, the guy just sat in one spot the whole time, talking on his phone... until.... the MOMENT we stepped on the other side of the back gate into the parking lot. I heard the loud door creaking open and what sounding like moving giant metal trash cans. I don't know what was happening. I didn't care. I just thought, "Okay kiddos, let's get in the van and get the heck outta dodge!"

Annnnyyway, my other major criticism is the whole "how to get into the park" problem. Victory Park is clearly visible from Ft. Caroline Road, with a open gate and a sign. However, there is nowhere to park on Ft. Caroline Road, and there are no instructions or signs advising an eager parkgoer the way to get to the park. Fortunately, I attended Ft. Caroline Middle School and could see the football field, so I figured I must have to go well past Victory Park, turn right on University Club, and then turn right onto an again unmarked road, which I followed to a parking lot behind Victory Park. I don't think that most people would have success finding the way to get into this park, but that may be for the best! ;)

The park itself was pretty clean, other than the building, which was clearly damaged. I didn't take pictures of it because, well, I didn't want to risk being shanked myself. When should one use a shank and when is a shiv preferred? Just curious. I digress. The park has a lot of features. The tennis courts and soccer fields looked really nice, and the playground equipment was in good repair... but something is GOING DOWN at the Victory Park.

So, here are the pictures, for what they're worth. Consider this to be your PSA for the day.

This was when Aspen fell attempting to cross the bridge. She actually did a flip before this. I guess this picture is evidence of my motherly awesomeness. Do I pick her up? No, I take a picture. (She was fine.)

These swings were old school! The seat with the CHAIN lap belt! What what!?!?

Ephraim decided to try one out. Still not a huge fan of the swings, as you can see. Again, evidence of my motherly awesomeness.

...But a few seconds later, and he liked it.

Not quite understanding the point of the balance beam.

The signs near the exercise equipment... kind of falling apart and/or faded to the point of invisibility.

The walking path in the wooded area.

Soccer fields

Tennis courts

So, don't go to Victory Park. ;)

Here is the website, and here are its amenities.

Amenity	Count
Benches	10
Bike racks	1
Car Parking	72
Drinking Fountain
Grills	4
Multiuse Field	1
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	1
Picnic Tables	11
Playground Equipment	7
Restrooms	1
Security Lighting
Soccer	1

The Book Project, Continued (Books 81-90)

2011-07-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! We are almost done with the Top 100 Children's Books of All Time! Unbelievable. It's been really fun to read all of these amazing books with my kid. Enjoy our reviews!

My Review - This is an EXCELLENT book. Really, I love it. It is the story of a girl who wants to do something that others think she can't or shouldn't do. Guess what? SHE CAN! I love stories like this in general. I love stories that teach my children to go after their dreams, despite any discouragement they may face. I want to be the kind of mom who pushes her children to go for whatever they want, no matter how crazy, no matter how young. And with that little soapbox rant, I will say, READ IT!

Ephraim's Review - Awkward because it had my favorite show in it. Do you remember the pirate scene where Captain Hook was with Peter Pan? That was my favorite show, because it was the original one. The original Captain Hook. (hahahah)

My Review - Cute story of a little boy who "becomes a pirate." I loved the illustrations in this book. The little boy didn't particularly like that pirates do not tell bedtime stories or do other things that moms and dads do, so that leads him back home, which I thought was particularly sweet. It seems that pirating is more of a grown-up job. :)

Ephraim's Review - That was kind of silly because they buried the treasure in the backyard. Ooh, here's really good one. wer (He typed the preceding letters.) Now, let me add something with it. wrd (He also typed those.) Word. That's what I wanna say, Mom. Word.

My Review - This is a sweet, beautiful story about the uniqueness of every child. It is a sweet one to share to assure your child of their infinite worth. Just wish it was, "On the MORNING You Were Born," 'cause both of my babies were born in the morning. ;)

Ephraim's Review - Silly because it had a polar bear in it. Those white things are called polar bears. (His typing coming up.) sno. Snow. Now guess what Mom? This is gonna make you laugh and crack up. wetr (also his typing)

My Review - This book made me want to go "owling!" I loved that this was a child getting to have an adventure with her father. Her older siblings had already experienced this, but it was finally her turn to go owling with dad. They do indeed see an owl, which is cool, but the parent-child adventure and memory is even more special!

Ephraim's Review - That was really cool because it was very awkward 'cause it was silly, that it had an owl in it. qwy (Ephraim's typing, again.)

My Review - This was another book that I really LOVED. This is the PERFECT book to read if you have a child who constantly says that they can't draw, or gives up on art projects without even beginning. It may give them a fresh perspective and help them to know that art has many forms!

Ephraim's Review - Really cool because she was an artist! cvbh (You guessed it, he typed that too.)

My Review - This was a fun story, and we got to be a part of it! The book talks directly to the reader, which was really enjoyable! We got to be the "bear" and try to get the mouse to part with his strawberry. I definitely recommend it if you're looking for an interactive story.

Ephraim's Review - Really cool because it was so cool the bear just even took the strawberry. bar (bear).

My Review - This was a sweet story of a world of wumps, who live at peace with their world and with one another.... until..... Well, go find out for yourself! I thought it was cute, and I sure hope things eventually went back to normal for those wumps!

Ephraim's Review - Really, really silly because it had silly stuff on it like when the wumps go on. I don't even know what wumps are. They are so silly. iuytr (yep, that again)

My Review - This is a simple, sweet bedtime story. Different kinds of animals were telling their babies goodnight, and going through bedtime rituals. Good story for helping with bedtime!

Ephraim's Review - Night night! Really cool because all of the babies were going night-night.

Great Park Adventure - Murray Hill Playground

2011-07-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have so many funny things to say about today... This morning at 10 a.m., I showed up at Murray Hill Playground with my children and a couple of friends. We had bathing suits and swim shoes, but we weren't totally sure that the water feature would be on. It was most definitely on! And guess what? Every single one of my Facebook friends were there too! Okay, not really, but there were like a million kids there. I'm thinking there was one daycare group and one church camp group. SO fun!

Many of the children fell in love with Aspen and followed her around everywhere. There was one particularly funny situation with a 5-year-old boy who had an "outie" belly button. Apparently, Aspen found this fascinating. She poked that belly button QUITE a few times! Thankfully, the little boy found it hilarious and was pretty accommodating. ;) In explaining the story later, Ephraim told my parents that the boy had a "hot dog" on his belly button. hahah ohmyword.

Another funny situation was a little dog showing up at the park near the end of our time there. There was an old lady with probably an 8-pound terrier walking in the park. She was WAY far from the water feature, but several of these children were extremely concerned about a dog being in the park. A group of 5 or 6 girls came RUNNING to me, exclaiming, "Get the baby! There's a dog loose in the park!" LOL Seriously, 8-pound terrier. Aspen could take that dog.

Okay, last funny story, and then on to info about the park. One of the little mommas in the group (probably an 8-year-old) said to me, "Is that your daughter?" "Yes," I replied. "How old is she?" she asked. I told her she was 18 months old. She replied, "Aww, and she already walkin? That's so good. I was walkin' when I was 9 months old. When will she be one?" HAHAHAH I wish I could accurately convey her attitude and mannerisms in this. It was totally like a little momma talking to another mom. I explained that one happened at 12 months, etc. It was really cute. I love kids. They are so funny.

Annnyway.... Murray Hill Playground. FUN times! LOVED the water feature! My kids went nuts for it. There was a lot of spraying in the hiney area and putting feet over the sprinklers to prevent the water from shooting out. They also held out their shirts and shorts over the sprinklers to receive spray. Aspen tried imitating all of this, which was really cute. The park was pretty clean and shady. If it is that popular, they could use SEVERAL more benches. I was a little disappointed that there were no baby swings. Aspen kept running to the swings, and I kept having to turn her down. This park has baseball fields and is the home of the Murray Hill Athletic Association, as well. Overall, it was a really fun time! I just love that some of our local parks have water features. It is really an awesome thing in Florida!

Enjoy the pics!

We had a blast today! I hope you go check it out. :)

Here is the park's website, and its amenities.

Baseball Youth Lighted 2

Basketball Lighted 1

Benches 10

Bleachers 12

Car Parking 135

Concession Stand 2

Drinking Fountain

Perimeter Site Fencing

Picnic shelters 1

Picnic Tables 13

Playground Equipment 3

Restrooms 2

Security Lighting

Great Park Adventure - Stinson Park

2011-07-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Today we got to see lots of friends at a BEAUTIFUL park, Stinson Park! This park is right at the base of the Ortega River Bridge, sits right on the water, has a playground, plenty of benches and beautiful shade trees, a fishing dock, and even a little "beach" area, which we did not visit because my one-year-old loves the water a little TOO much. :)

This is a park that is great for children AND grown-ups!

Ok, so the sign has some graffiti, but that was the only graffiti that I saw!

Beautiful views of the river!

Ephraim had a map in his mouth. He was really holding on to that thing today. He drew it this morning, and when asked what it was for, he replied, "For not getting lost." Duh. ;)

Pooped!

I think you should definitely go visit Stinson Park! It is clean and beautiful. You'll definitely enjoy it.

My brother and his wife actually had some wedding shots taken here, between the ceremony and reception. Pretty cool (okay, so it was really hot... and it was really hot today too!).

Thanks, friends, for joining us today! We had fun! :)

Here is the park's website, and its amenities.

Benches	14
Bike racks	1
Car Parking	16
Drinking Fountain
Pedestrian Docks	2
Perimeter Site Fencing
Picnic shelters	1
Picnic Tables	3
Playground Equipment	6
Security Lighting
Trails Paved (Miles)	0
Trash Barrels	7

Crafty Blog Move!

2011-07-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm doing it. I'm splitting my blog into two blogs. I am in the process of copying my craft stuff from here over to the other page, here.

Hopefully my craft stuff will be a little easier to find over there!

The Great Park Adventure, the Book Project, and all of my many random musings will stay here on Mustard Seeds.

Luv Boopa will now be the home to all my crafts, tutorials, crochet patterns, and kids crafts. I'm leaving all the previous posts here though, so don't worry if you've bookmarked them! Oh, and don't judge the look of the page yet. I'm still deciding on some things. ;)

Meet me up at my other place, and become a follower! ;)

Hey Lady! Whatchu Readin!??!

2011-07-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've told you before how I'm a crazy reader. I've always got several books going, and I pick them up and put them down at random intervals. I figured since you know everything Ephraim's reading, I'd share some of the things currently on loan to ME from the Jacksonville Public Library. ;)

And in answer to your burning question, when do I find time to read? Whenever. My main reading time is in the afternoon. I put Aspen down for a nap and often read while I'm getting her to sleep. I then do "school time" with Ephraim and read him several books. I'll sit in his room and read my own books while he naps. It's a nice, quiet half hour or so before little lady wakes up.

I read both fiction and nonfiction, whatever floats my boat. I like to read marriage books because marriage is near and dear to my heart. I like to read things that challenge me, and things that entertain me.... so that's what I do. Hope you enjoy this little glimpse into my crazy mind! ;)

I've included my thoughts, if I've had any yet. ;)

This is a fictional novel by a Ray Blackston. I read a trilogy written by him that I found hilarious, so I was excited to see this on the shelf at the library. I'm only a few chapters in, and honestly, kind of lost! ;) Hopefully it will start to be clear soon! There is some kind of reverse rapture thing happening, and... well... it might not be as funny as his other books. I'm not giving up yet though!

Terri Blackstock is one of my favorite Christian fiction authors. I've read everything she's written. She kind of does a suspense type thing. Anyway, I just finished this book, and it was really good. She shares at the end of the story that her own daughter struggled with drug addiction, making this story rather personal. I think you should read everything she's written. That's just my 2 cents, though.

Here is one of my marriage books! Just like to gird up the ole marriage with a little extra attention whenever possible. Sometimes it is just helpful to read these types of books to encourage and remind ourselves that marriage is awesome and worthwhile!

Jane Austen is my go-to gal. I always have some Jane Austen in my life. She's like comfort food, and absolutely my favorite author.

Marriage book #2. Doesn't it look fun!?!? I haven't even cracked it open yet, but it seems like it should be a good one, if you are allowed to judge a book by its cover.

"UNconditional" by Brian Zahnd is not for the faint at heart. I'm not even halfway through, and that fella is steppin' on my toes! Here's the full title. "UNconditional? The call of Jesus to RADICAL FORGIVENESS." This has been on my mind a lot today with the current media frenzy. I'm not going to take sides or go into that too much... but I will recommend this book. Well, I'm not done reading it yet, so don't go taking this as a FULL endorsement. ;)

The forever-long Bible study. My friends and I have been working on this little title FOR-EV-ER. :) It's an excellent study and such an encouragement. We are just easily distracted by the stuff of life. Priscilla Shirer is most certainly an author (and speaker) to check out!

Last, but not least... lest you think I'm a pagan myself! ;)

Also, Ephraim has absolutely fallen in love with the movie, "Ramona and Beezus." It is really a great movie. I love it too! So, we always listen to Adventures in Odyssey or some other childrens' books on CD in the van. We are starting the Ramona books tomorrow!

What are you reading? I always appreciate a good recommendation!