Thursday, April 27, 2017

Teen Pact


We had a great opportunity to attend the Teen Pact one day leadership class at our state capital building last week! This was my first encounter with Teen Pact though I had heard parents talk about it in the past.

Wow! I was so impressed and we had a great experience. Teen Pact is in nearly all states, so be sure to check if there is one in your state!

Beginning with friendly teen staff to greet us, play an ice breaker game and most importantly open the morning in worship and Scripture with a sword drill, we were quickly off to a great start!

Explaining the role of government in the life of a Christian through an easy to understand skit was also a highlight!


We went on a prayer walk through the Capital building including a visit to the House of Representatives, Senate, Governor's Office, Legal Library and Lt. Governor's Office. We saw where this building was hit with cannon fire in the Civil War and stopped in each spot to pray for the leaders of our state.


Our children had each written a bill to be presented after lunch. Emily wrote on smoking, Rachel on alcohol and Samuel on littering - all their own ideas. Their favorite part was thinking up a consequence - ha!

It was a great opportunity for them to practice public speaking by getting up in front of the group to present their bills. They learned some basic legislative protocol, how a bill becomes a law through a hilarious skit and enjoyed interacting in many ways throughout the day.

Students even held their own election for Governor for the day!




And here was Samuel at the end of the afternoon:


We can't wait to go back!


Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Slow Day



















Pancakes for breakfast on a lovely farmy platter that our CC moms gave me at the end of the year!
Working on our bills for Teen Pact - I'm sharing more tomorrow about this!
Watching the Bible Bee - we have been enjoying this weekly show that airs on Facebook.
Planning, prepping tons of food because a. my children are suddenly ravenous all.the.time., b. we had two long days out of the house last week and I wanted to be prepared with food to take with us that was easy to pack and yummy and c. it fits my grocery budget! Shown here - we had scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner. I made pizza muffins for lunch the next day and pumpkin cookies {a variation of the carrot cake cookies}; homemade cream soup for using with my Crock Pot recipe and skinny scones for breakfast two days later.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Field Tripping!



When CC finishes each Spring, our school load lightens and we have some marginal time to take field trips! We went to a fun place called Bee City - each of our children poured their own honey bear, made a shaped item out of beeswax, learned about bees, and saw lots of fun animals. It was a fun day!










Monday, April 24, 2017

Dining Room Project


The past few summers, I've had a home project or two to accomplish and this year is no different! We are nearing the end of our school year and our dining room table is showing a lot of wear so I've made a list of things I hope to accomplish in this room.

For today, I'm sharing my list of what I'd like to do and my before photos!



* take flags down
* take bird counting cards down and relocate to girls room
* relocate mailboxes
* relocate chalkboard
* replace curtains?
* paint wall behind chalkboard
* take shelf and knick knacks down
* paint table legs and chairs black
* refinish and stain table top
* chair cushions?
* seal table and chairs with polyurethane top coat
* hang decor on newly painted wall



I've already marked a few things off my list and will have fun showing you the progress as it moves along!

Friday, April 21, 2017

Nature Beauty





















Frequently I just have this craving to get out in the woods. This little picnic area is just a short walk from my house and while not in the "woods" it is pretty and quiet and surrounded with trees!

When I am overly tired and weary from the pace of life, time in nature is so restorative and calming. Recently I was reading in Psalm and came across these verses:

Psalm 96:11-13, "Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth."

I've read these verses before, but this time it struck me that perhaps one of the reasons that it is so refreshing to be out in nature is that God's creation is always praising Him! When I am outside, I am in the midst of a worship session always - nature can't choose not to praise, it just does praise and worship by its existence and by proclaiming with its existence that God is good.

My Pinterest board on Forest beauty!