“B” is for Babies, Boys, Bibles and Books and Blogging

So today is Day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge for April along with the Blogging A to Z challenge.  The letter of the day is “B”, which for me is for babies, Bibles and books.  We have four children who are 18, 16, 14 and 12 respectively right now.  While I miss them being babies to a certain extent, I enjoy seeing the people they are becoming.  Three of our children are boys and they truly are a handful.  Our youngest is our only girl and she is quite the princess.  My boys keep life interesting and one never knows what might be discussed when we sit down to meals or what they will attempt to do.

Bibles play a critical role in our family.  My husband became an ordained minister the same year we were married.  So we have worked to bring up our children in the word of God.  As we search for homeschooling materials, Biblical companies are the main one we use.  It is important to us to have a Biblical worldview and for our children to back up what they believe with Scripture references.  So we have quite the collection of Bibles, concordances, Biblical commentaries and dictionaries around our home.

The other thing our home is full of is books.  I grew up believing that books were my best friend.  I was never bored or lacked things to do because I always had books to read.  I have tried to instill the same love of reading in my children.  They have not all grabbed hold of the idea as I would wish, but we are still working on it.  It is fun when we prepare for a move to see all the books loaded into boxes.  We have Biblical books, Language Arts and Literature books, books on writing, books for Math, books for Science, books for History and books for the Arts.  On top of those books, we have books on homeschooling,  books to read for pleasure and various other books.  Each member of the family has at least one bookcase in their room.  Plus we have other bookcases scattered around the house.  Books make homeschooling much easier.  Even if I never bought any more curriculum for our children, I could homeschool from the books we have.  With seven people living in our home the books really add up.

“B” is also for blogging and Bible Journaling.   I started blogging as a way of keeping our extended family aware of what was going on in our lives along with providing a record for our children.  Writing makes things more real somehow and easier to remember.  Utilizing photographs helps keep those memories as well.

Bible Journaling has become a new pastime for me.  I especially love getting on Pinterest and Facebook to see what others are creating. Here is a sample of one of works.

So what does the letter “B” represent or bring to mind for you and your family?  I welcome comments!

Another Round of the Ultimate Blog Challenge

Well the first quarter of 2015 has flown by quickly.  We have spent the time working on school, beginning to hold church services at our home and making a relatively quick trip to North Carolina to see my husband’s side of the family.

With the start of the second quarter of 2015 beginning, I am pleased to be participating in the next round of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  My plan for this blog for 2015 is to increase traffic to the blog and begin offering some freebies as well.  I am also going to learn how to use Photoshop and work more with PicMonkey to create my own graphics.

In April, the next Proverbs 31 Ministries Bible Study for Lysa Terkeurst’s book “What Happens When Women Walk in Faith” will begin.  Once again I will be serving as one of the Facebook Small Group leaders.

I am also participating in a Bible Study for Kay Arthur’s book “How to Study Your Bible” in order to learn more about the Inductive Bible Study method.  I am also going through the book, “Writing in the Margins”.  One of my goals for 2015 is to grow in Bible Journaling activities.  My one word for 2015 is “Create” and that is my focus for the year.

In the realm of homeschooling, we are preparing for our oldest son’s graduation.  With that we will enter a new realm of parenting.  We are planning on him walking across the stage at the CHAP convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania the weekend of Mother’s Day.  Our next graduation will possibly take place as early as the next school year.

So what is going on where you are

NaBloPoMo Day 3 – A Food I Love

So today is day 3 of the NaBloPoMo challenge for December and I want to write about my favorite food.  Okay scratch food and let’s make that dessert.  My favorite type of food for dessert is anything chocolate.  Chocolate is one of the necessities in my life.  It is always the right time for chocolate.

One of the shows my husband and I like to watch is “Star Trek: Next Generation”.  Some of my favorite episodes are ones in which Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor, eats desserts.  She also loves chocolate.

Typically a chocolate sundae is her dessert of choice.  I am very flexible.  I haven’t really ever met a chocolate I did not like.  Sometimes my husband and I manage to go out for dinner alone and we like to go to the Outback Steakhouse.  We typically order the “Blooming Onion” followed by an entree that we both share.  Then we finish off with their “Chocolate Thunder from Down Under”.  This dessert has all the necessary components to be a great dessert:    a chocolate pecan brownie  (warm of course), vanilla ice cream, homemade warm chocolate fudge sauce,  homemade whipped cream and is topped with chocolate shavings.  It is a masterpiece, and sharing it with the man I love makes it that much more fantastic.

So what is your favorite dessert or food?  I would love to hear from you.

#NaBloPoMo December 2014 Day 2 – A Surprise that Made Me Happy

Today is day 2 of the NaBloPoMo challenge for December 2014.  I want to share about a surprise that made me happy.  Eighteen years ago our oldest son was born.  At the time we had no rocking chair.  He was born in June and I just had to make do.  As Christmas approached (as he does every year), my husband gave me no idea of what kind of Christmas present he was going to get me.  I should add he is insanely good at keeping a secret and our second son is just as talented at keeping secrets.

On Christmas morning, when we were exchanging presents, imagine my surprise to see a glider rocker as one of my presents.  It was absolutely perfect.  Fast forward to now and I still have that rocking chair.  It needs a little tlc, but I still love the chair and the thought that went into picking it out.  I have to say my husband is amazing at picking out gifts.

So what is one surprise you received that you absolutely loved?