Shout Out "April"......Here it is, Finished

Hope you like it

Pictures from the week.....

Austen helping in Blake's classroom




Last weekend...Tavis and Blake with Wayne





April helping Austen with his math (last Friday)









Blake Helping Mom.... with the dishes

Fabulous Friday..... Week Review

Fabulous Friday


Psalm 119:49-50
Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
This [is] my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

It has been a tough week, I must say a big struggle for me. I have just been clinging onto Hope. God always has a purpose through every storm. I want to grow from it rather then to get bitter about it. Today will be nice, we will spend the day with our sisters in Christ! It is always refreshing, and uplifting. I'm not sure of our plans for the weekend yet. Wayne has been working a lot and has had some struggles at work. I am praying we can spend some family time out doors....if the weather will allow us too.

Next week we are making it a week of NO TV, Video Games, and Computer from 8-6pm. It seems we have let the Games and TV get out of hand again. So this will be good for us. I will be doing my blogging before the kids get up in the am. I am hoping to get caught back up on the Love dare, we are going at it slow.

It was a busy week but somewhat productive. I stayed on top of the house cleaning until Wednesday....then it all piled up. We got all caught up last night. The boys and I have been swimming 3-4 days a week at the YMCA.
Austen and I worked at the school yesterday for half a day. Today we are off to our homeschool Friday group!
Have a Blessed Friday,
Brandie

Wednesday~ Weight Loss '5 Essential Weight Loss Foods'

1. Millet: A well-balanced diet should consist of whole grains instead of refined grains like white rice and pasta, and millet is a beneficial and delicious staple of this category of food. This non-glutinous grain is over 10-percent protein, has high amounts of fiber and B-complex vitamins, and because it isn't an acid forming food, is easy to digest.

2. Asparagus: When losing weight, it's important to favor chlorophyll-rich foods, including asparagus. Asparagus is a nutrient-rich vegetable packed with folate, vitamins A, C, and K, and fiber. Asparagus also contains a carbohydrate known as inulin (not to be confused with insulin) that promotes healthy bacteria in the large intestine - which in turn promotes a healthier digestive function.

3. Pomegranates: Eating a balanced diet to lose weight should include eating fresh fruits, and pomegranates are a wonderful example of a healthy, nutritious fruit that has antioxidant properties and will help prevent cancer. While the benefits of drinking pomegranate juice have gained a lot of attention recently, you will be more likely to lose weight by eating the fruit fresh to increase your fiber intake and keep the calories down.
4. Pine Nuts: Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pine trees and are considered an essential ingredient in the tasty Italian mixture pesto. Chinese medicine uses pine nuts to improve gastrointestinal tract and digestive functions, and pine nut oil is even used for appetite suppression. Pine nuts and other nuts are a tasty part of a well-balanced diet intended for weight loss.

5. Green Tea: It has been found that consuming large amounts of coffee and caffeine can lead to food cravings, increase one's appetite, and induce stress-related eating. Green tea is a wonderful alternative to coffee in that it does provide a little caffeine but also contains beneficial antioxidants. So drink up!A healthy diet also includes lean proteins like chicken breast, legumes such as lentils, and other whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. While fad diets may promise a large amount of weight loss in a short period of time, there's almost a guarantee that you will put that weight back on-and then some!

Eat five smaller meals a day, avoid processed foods, chew more slowly, and incorporate more healthy foods into your diet-starting with these five.

Dr. Mao

Homeschool~ Following Directions

Following Directions

What was I going to do? My son had studied all week long for this test, and if I accepted the way he had answered the questions, he would receive a score of 100%. However, there was one huge problem troubling my grading-he hadn't followed the directions. Although I had reminded him to read the instructions thoroughly, he had written his response in the blank instead of circling the correct answer. So what was more important, the fact that he knew the answers or that he had failed to follow the directions?

After praying, I decided to let my son be his own judge. Surprisingly, he was tougher on himself than I would have been and said, "Mom, it wouldn't be fair for me to get an A on this test." Together, we decided he should be penalized by receiving one grade lower for his failure to pay attention to the directions.Not following the directions usually has a more severe consequence in real life. That fact was first discovered by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. When dealing with a Holy God, you simply can't skip over important details in His directions like don't eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:17). Today, Christians continue to skip God's commandments when they feel it restricts their way of life. Thinking they're able to do God's will their own way, they fail God's test because they didn't follow His directions.Is your life one that reflects God's divine instructions from His Word? Do you skip over those passages that test your character like "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22), and "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15a)? God doesn't give instructions to make your life more difficult. He gives directions because He loves you and wants you to succeed in living for Him. Will you choose today to follow His direction in those areas you've been avoiding and receive His grade of "well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21)?

Lord, forgive me for thinking I can ignore Your directions and not suffer as a result. Cleanse my life today of those things that shame Your name, and help me to walk in a manner worthy of Your love. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

You can help save a homeschool! Learn how today by visiting aophomeschooling.com!

My Week~ Schedule and Deep Cleaning

1) Austen's Dresser (get rid of clothes that are to small)
2) Blake's Toy Shelves
3) Austen's School Desk

Not much for this week...I will barely be able to keep up on my regular list of house cleaning! But, small goals I know I can accomplish and feel good about it!





This week's Events

Monday~ Grocery Store and Swimming
Tuesday~ Cleaning, Post Office & Pharmacy
Wednesday~ Doctors Appointment, Swimming, and Church
Thursday~ Work In Blake's Class am, Evening family swimming
Friday~ Homeschool Group Day 9:30-1:00pm, Meeting 6:00

Marriage~ Help Meet~ Reverence

God admonishes us ladies to see that we reverence our man.

Eph 5:33
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.

~ Make A New Habit

Try to show your husband noticeable esteem at least 3 times a day. Plan small habits you can establish that will make easier to remember, until giving him reverence comes naturally.

~Traits Of A Good Help Meet

1. She acknowledges the "good traits" in her man.

2. She speaks of her husband with esteem.

3. She defers to him.

4. She never responds to him with scorn or ridicule.

~Getting Serious With God

The word REVERENCE appears 13 times in God's Word. Eight occurrences have to do with reverencing men. Look up and consider each of theses uses of the word reverence. As you read, you will understand from God's Word what God requires of you in reverencing your husband. Make a list of ways you have not shown reverence to your husband, and then make a list of things you are going to start doing to correct them. Always keep in mind that, when you reverence your husband, you are reverencing God. It is God's will for you to do this service to your husband .

~ Taken From

Created To Be His Helpmeet By Debi Perl (Chapt. 13)

Reflecting on Todays Love Dare~ Note For Mrs. House

From What I posted on My Love Dare Blog www.daretolovechallenge.blogspot.com

This dare is really important, we really are NOT taught this in the world.
God has a perfect design for marriage but when we ignore the manual in which we should go by.......marriages are in shambles!I fell into the trap of lies that society taught.......When you have fallen out of love, or when things got to tough....It is time to move on with a divorce! Huhhhh! Marriage is very dear to my heart, I guess because the Lord has done absolute miracles in my own marriage. I have a GREAT desire and calling from the Lord to share what the Lord can do in your marriage if you are only open to cling to the HOPE in his Word...The Bible!

Now I must confess I am a work in progress.....My marriage is not where it is suppose to be but I really have a great desire to get there, and I know I have come a long ways from where I began.Yesterday, in fact was a day we totally regressed to some of our old patterns......fighting that flesh, and guess what we gave into the flesh I am sorry to say! In order to stay on top of your marriage there has to be some key things in place.

I love today's dare and I pray we can all take heed and learn from what God will teach us in these up-coming weeks of the Love Dare.

Lord,I am so weak, in the flesh and struggle to walk in the Spirit. You have given us this SPECIAL tool in our walk with you, but there are times we just lay that tool down and forget it is there to use. Forgive me Lord for my sin in my marriage, the pain and hurt I caused. I pray Lord, that you would revive my marriage again and help us grow to be examples of what a godly marriage looks like. Help me to focus on my shortcoming and work to be the godly wife, and not to focus on my husbands shortcomings. I feel like we are so far from that Lord, but I do know there is always HOPE, when you YOU are involved, when we allow your Spirit to work and move in our lives. I thank you for all you have done in my marriage and I look forward Lord to see what blessings you have in my marriage.Amen...

PS...To MY dear Sister In The Lord.....CAREY

I thank you for your gentle reminder yesterday, when I shared my struggles. You are a gem! I appreciate your friendship, and cherish it! There is nothing like godly counsel...points to the TRUTH in a loving gentle way!! God Bless you sister. Please Forgive me for my attitude in that moment!

Weekend Fun!!!

It has been a fun weekend so far. Yesterday we did our School at the church, and April did some math with the kids. After we were done we did some shopping. Austen needed some new shoes....ugh he wears a size 12 in men's...I can not believe it! He is now officially 6 ft tall. We had a great time with April shopping.

It was then time to head to the YMCA...my sweet hubby got us a membership!!! I really have wanted to re-join for a long time. Swimming makes such a difference, because of my back. It was fun to chat with Mrs. House (My dear pastor's wife).

The House boys stayed the night with us and then Wayne dropped off Austen and Pat to go airsofting for the day. When he got home we got ready and took the younger boys into Vancouver to the mall and did some shopping. My sweet Hubby took me to my FAVORITE store! (CJ Banks) I was bummed though because they didn't have much on the clearance racks. After the mall, we took the kids to Sonics a big treat for Blake, his favorite place to eat! From there my sweety took me to Kohl's, I had never been there before, but WOW I found lots of things there! We have been talking about getting a communication system for our motorcycle so we can talk when we ride, so we went to the motorcycle shop and FINALLY bought one!!! I am so exited now to go riding again! Wayne has been saving for some time to get one, part of our late Valentines gift to one another.

And Tomorrow is Church, I am looking forward to being back in the house of The Lord tomorrow!!

Hope you all have a BLESSED weekend!!

Praise God~ Where would I be without him?

I am so thankful !
I have really been trying to keep track of answered prayer, and wow it is amazing the prayers God has answered. Recently my husband got an offer on a vehicle that was just a steal! Beings our 2 cars have high miles and are getting old we felt like this would be a deal to go for! As I prayed I just asked God to NOT give me my way or desire but His will. This purchase would give us a car payment, and not knowing what the future holds, I didn't want to make the wrong decision. God knows the future. So many times in our past we made bad decisions and paid the consequences for it. I know for us it is very hard to WAIT and pray. God did close the doors, and I am so thankful that he knows what is best for our family. Sometimes God allows us to have those things, that really are not his perfect will and we are sorry down the line we didn't follow Gods lead.

God is so good! I am rejoicing today knowing that I can come before God, and he will answer my prayers, he knows our future and what is BEST!

Homeschool~ What Is Unschooling?

I found this interesting as I explore the different types of homeschooling, and I thought I would share.

What is Unschooling?

Karen M. Gibson
Unschooling has many, many definitions - probably a different one for each family that calls themselves unschoolers. To me, unschooling means interest-led or child-led learning. There are also many different levels of unschooling. Some families require a set amount of Math and English done each day, and then their child is free to explore whatever subjects he would like.

Others unschool totally until their child reaches a certain grade level, and then start requiring some structure. And then there are the dyed-in-the-wool, radical unschoolers, who require nothing from their child. They totally trust their child to learn what he needs to know on his own timetable.

How unschooling works for us
The more we explore the avenues that work the best for our family, the more we find ourselves gravitating towards total, radical unschooling, with the child leading his learning all the way. We do use some textbooks and workbooks, but only if the child has said that he would like to. Unschooling does not mean no textbooks or no curriculum. If a child prefers to learn that way, or expresses a desire for a certain level of structure, that’s fine, as long as it is the child’s wish. Our main resources, though, are the public library, the Internet, computer games, books, and real-life experiences.

Unschooling also does not mean no parental involvement. If anything, it requires that you, the parent, be totally aware of the needs of your child. It means having on hand many resources, making suggestions of new avenues of exploration, and being able to hunt down that elusive answer or needed resource. It means finding a place for your child to volunteer or apprentice. It means seeking out the person who can give lessons or advice on a particular career. It means joining a group that you have no interest in so that your child can explore more fully his area of interest.

I find that one of the hardest things with unschooling is learning to trust that your child will learn what he needs to know for his own life, in his own time frame. He may not cover all the same subjects and curriculums that everyone else at his age covers; he might cover them earlier or later. It's also possible that he may never cover those subjects if they are not pertinent to his life. I truly believe that each child is unique, and that it’s my job to help that child become the person he was born to be. I can’t force my child to learn anything that he isn’t ready to learn for himself - and if he’s ready to learn it for himself, then why do I need to teach it to him? All I need to do is provide what he needs and help, if he asks for it.

Flu...AGAIN

Well, it happened, Blake had the flu, it started last night at about 1 am. I'm sleepy today but getting through it. Blake seems to be better, just tired :)

Weight Loss Tips...Sodium

(salt is a huge downfall for me...I love salty foods) I found this article interesting.

Daily sodium intake will always be high in the western diet

The average diet in the western world is commonly made up of fast, packaged or convenient foods. These always consist of high levels of salt and salt contains sodium. If a diet is mainly composed of high sodium foods then naturally the sodium intake also rises thus extra weight is gained quickly as the body holds onto water. It has been estimated that many people in the UK and USA may be carrying up to 5 pounds of extra weight due to the effects of a high sodium intake.

The opposite effect also happens when an individual reduces food intake in order to lose weight quickly. A percentage of the loss will be water because a reduction in high sodium foods means a reduction in daily sodium intake which results in water loss as the kidneys have a chance to finally rid the excess sodium from the body. This also helps partly explain why a dieter may experience the yo-yo effect when dieting, water weight is lost with food reduction but quickly regained when old eating habits are back to normal and daily sodium intake rises once more.

For some people with a diet high in processed or other salty foods, it’s possible that their weight may even go beyond normal range during the day. This is because high intakes of salt / sodium help us to hold more water. The result is we could gain a little more water weight than a diet made up of more natural foods and products. In fact, some experts have suggested that many overweight individuals could be carrying an extra 5 pounds just from excessive fluid gains caused from a “bad” diet of processed foods and snack products high in salt.The way to lose excess water weight gained from the diet is to start gradually reducing the amount of high salt foods from the diet. It could be a good idea to try to eliminate a single high salt food item from the diet each week until your diet contains about 80% natural or low-salt foods. Replace the eliminated food with a similar, but a more natural type from the same food group. This way you can maintain a balanced diet full of your preferred food items without completely changing to a new diet altogether. Although, you should always check with a dietician a before changing your current diet!!

www.weightlossforall.com

Sharing From My Love Dare Blog....

1 Corinthians 13:7

(Love:)(Charity) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

There are 2 rooms in your heart

1. Appreciation Room

2. Depreciation Room

The Appreciation Room

*Where your thoughts go when you encounter positive and encouraging things about your spouse.

* You enjoy the visit to the Appreciation room.

*On the walls in the appreciation room are written words and phrases describing the good attributes of your mate. Example: honest, wonderful cook, intelligent,beautiful eyes, or hard worker. (they are things you have discovered about your husband that have embedded themselves in your memory.

* As you think on these things your appreciation for your spouse increases.

The Depreciation Room

* On the walls in this room is things that bother or irritate you about your spouse.

* These things were placed there out of frustration, hurt feelings, and disappointments of unmet expectations.

*This room is lined with the weaknesses and failures of your husband. (their bad habits)

*Here are written very hateful things about their mate.

* It is where ammunition is kept for the next fight. (bitterness is allowed to spread here)

* People fall out of love here.

* Divorces are plotted in this room.

*The more time you spend here, the more your heart devalues your spouse

.Love knows about the Depreciation Room and does not live in denial it exists.

BUT Love chooses not to live there.Love chooses to believe the best about people. It gives them the benefit of the doubt.Love focuses on the positive.The only reason you should glance in the door to the Depreciation Room is to know how to pray for your spouse. The only reason you should go into the room is to write "COVERED IN LOVE"

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

(1 Peter 4:8 KJV)

We must develop the habit of reining in your negative thoughts and focusing on the positive attributes of your mate.

Today's Dare
Get two sheets of paper~ On the first sheet, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with the negative things on the second sheet of paper. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your husband for having that characteristic.
Question
Which list was easier to make? what did this reveal about your thoughts? What attribute did you thank your spouse for having?

Love Tags I made today......

I was just in the mood to create today and not blog, so here ya go.......Hope you find one you like. I really enjoy making scripture tags :)

Yes, you may snag away:)