Talent night - part 2

Sunday night we had talent night for the older grades. Here is a picture of the girls in my class before they performed. They did a great job!
The class Nathanael helps in also "performed". They each took turns reading verses from the Bible about the "armor of God". Nathanael had to start them off with a paragraph he had written about what the "armor of God" means to him. I was so proud of him, he too did a great job :-)

Then came time for Jordan's class. They did a very interesting interpretation of the Bible story of Saul's conversion. They did a modern day version set in East L.A. Jordan was "Ananias".
Here is "Saul" when he was blinded on the road.
Here is God talking to Jordan telling him to meet Saul.
And here is "tent-preacher Jordan" aka "Ananias" praying for Saul's sight to return. He did a very dramatic interpretation.
And here is the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade girls posing for a picture after it was all over.

And they say homeschoolers don't have any friends...

When Jordan and I started planning his birthday, I told him he could have a few friends spend the night. Hmmmmm. Not quite sure what happened to that!

The party was full of mishaps and things not going quite as planned, but that was OK, that is what keeps life interesting. I ordered the small bouncer since our backyard it so small. Well they sent a huge bouncer and it had a giant fish on top of it! I forgot to take a picture, I am so disappointed. The fish was really funny looking! Caleb had lots of fun in the jumper!
The final count was 57 people. If this is how we celebrate him turning 11, I don't know if I want to see what his 16th birthday party is going to be like!
All kidding aside, it was a very blessed party. Even though it was hot, I think everyone found enough shade to stay comfortable. The kids had lots of different things to choose from to do, so I don't think anyone was bored. It seemed like everyone had a really nice time!

Since Jordan is getting older, he didn't have a "theme" for his party. We were going to get another baseball cake, but he had one last year. Then we were just going to get a plain "happy birthday" cake, and then we saw this cake! This could not have been a more perfect cake for Jordan!

I had to laugh. When it was time to open presents, there was only one, the rest were envelopes. And what do you think was in all those envelopes?

Money and Game Stop gift cards! Does he really need anymore video games????? And yes, those are all $20 bills. I think his grand total was $275? Back to our original plan. He did have a "few" friends spend the night after his party. They were very well behaved and played video games all night. Then we took them all to church with us.
We had to throw one silly picture in! And as I started this post with. Who says homeschoolers don't have any friends, or they don't socialize? Jordan has more friends than me!

Preschool pictures for everyone

Caleb - three years old
Jordan - four years old
Nathanael - four years old

I know Caleb's preschool picture is a repeat, but I couldn't resist posting it again since it was so cute! It is hard to see the resemblance in these pictures because I put poor Caleb in preschool so much younger than Nathanael and Jordan, so Nathanael and Jordan's pictures were actually taken when they are four going on five, and not three like Caleb's.


I was insane when Jordan was in preschool. This is a picture of when I took our cat, Sebastian, to preschool for pet week. Doesn't Jordan look so cute? I can't believe that cat cooperated! He is all black so he is hard to make out in the picture because he blended perfectly with my jacket. And Jordan says I never do anything for him!

Jordan's 11th birthday

Wow, what a difference 10 years makes! This is Jordan. Look at that white hair! Out of the three boys he was the most chubbiest baby. His cheeks would wobble! That certainly went away as he got older!
This was Jordan last night waiting for his birthday present. Somewhere along the way we have gotten in the habit of giving presents the day before an event (except for Christmas). We are all impatient I guess!
Here he is waiting for his present.

And after he opened it. Scene it for X-Box 360 is a fun game! We all played it last night. The wireless controllers worked great. We have Buzz the Mega Quiz for PS2 and although it is a fun game, the wires are always a mess.
Loved this picture. It isn't often they are this close to each other smiling!
This was this morning. Jordan's friend Jocelyn brought him over some balloons for his birthday. Caleb has had a great time playing with them all day!
Jordan got to pick his dinner tonight, anywhere he wanted, and he chose Pick Up Stix. Yummy, yummy! Here he is with his cream cheese wonton. I think I gained ten pounds today!
Here he is with his cake. Notice the two candles make the number 11. That was easy. We had perfect timing with the cake. We ordered this Claim Jumper motherload cake from the neighbor boy down the street as a fundraiser for his school and he dropped it off yesterday. It was delicious!

We now start our "birthday season" it is all down hill from here!

Nathanael

With all of these cute pictures, I couldn't leave Nathanael out! I found this picture in the picture frame behind Jordan's baby picture. He was so cute. I can't believe his eyes and how much he resembles Caleb.

Caleb's preschool picture

I almost wasn't even going to write anything, because I think these pictures are pretty much the cutest things I have ever seen. Yes, I seem to be bragging a bit, but gosh he looks cute!

My retreat

I had the most wonderful weekend. I went away to our women's retreat at church. It was held at the Murrieta Conference Center. It is so beautiful there. It is my second most favorite time of year, (Christmas is first). Last year I was unable to go because we were in Washington D.C., so I was so glad I was able to go this year. It is always such a blessing to get away for a few days with friends, hearing wonderful speakers, resting, no cleaning, no cooking, just being fed spiritually and physically for an entire weekend.

Here is the group I went up with, Shelley, Lisa, Ellen, and Kim.
The weather was gorgeous, even a little cool, but that was OK.
I love this painting in the coffee shop. Whoever painted this did an incredible job! The whole thing is a painting, the brick, the windows, all of it. You can see underneath that is where they make the coffee drinks.

The details that went into renovating this place are just amazing. All of the tile work has special little designs like this or fishes or crosses.

Our theme was "Come to the Throne" based on Hebrews 4:16.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We had two of the most amazing guest speakers, Jeannette Walls from Calvary Chapel Upland and Millie Juarez of Calvary Chapel Montebello. Both of these women had the most amazing testimonies. The whole weekend was such a blessing. I am so sad though, I have heard this is the last year we will be having our retreat at Murrieta. They have been having it here for as long as I can remember. It is such a beautiful location. I am curious to see what the Lord is going to do with this. I feel like nothing could possibly compare to a place like Murrieta, but we will see what the Lord's plan are for this big change!!!

While mom is away the boys will play...

I was gone this weekend. As you can tell, the boys decided to have a little fun in the backyard, digging. Scott just informed me that he thinks I only lost one plant by the time it was all over.
When Nathanael was little (and Jordan too, but not as much) he loved digging up the backyard. The big plan was always to dig to China. There was always much debate as to whether you would come out the other side head first, or feet first. Scott wanted to have one of his Chinese friends hide in the hole and jump out. Anyways... Caleb is loving this digging in the dirt, and Nathanael seems to have fun reliving his "childhood" too.
I really hope Caleb got a bath when this was all over.
Next time, I won't be gone quite so long.

The Zoo

Last Thursday, we went to the L.A. Zoo. We had a big turn out. Everybody loves the zoo.
Jordan had fun hanging out with his friends.

Caleb had a lot of fun too, hanging out with everyone and seeing all the animals. Unfortunately, Jordan got sick and we had to leave early. I felt so bad. We left Nathanael there with a friend. It all worked out though. If we hadn't of left early Caleb never would have made it to his eye doctor appointment. On our way home, the 5/605 freeways were closed! Thankfully, we heard it on the news just in time and took the 710. The freeways were a mess! I definitely want to go back to the zoo soon, though, Caleb is at the perfect age to see everything.

Blog Stalker

Well, I have really enjoyed blogging, and I enjoy reading other people's blogs. I have tried to get my friends to blog, but they are resistant. I know they read my blog, but that is it. Though I do have a friend who has joined facebook, which forced me to join facebook so I can read hers, but it just isn't like my blog. So I will visit facebook, but my blog is my "home." But in reading Michelle and Rick's blog, and seeing how they added so many people to their lists of blogs they read, I realized I only had three to add, so I added them. Welcome Lori, Jenny, and Rick. I have been reading your blogs all along and have enjoyed them. Keep on sharing! Oh, and for those who read my blog, check out the blog from Peru. Scott and Nathanael are supposed to go there for a missions trip this summer. We would appreciate your prayers about that!

Caleb and his cat, Tigger

Caleb loves his cats. When he was younger, I was a little worried, because he would kick the cats whenever he saw them. Now he loves them and they love him. Tigger likes to sit on his couch with him. They were watching Cailou together. It was so cute. The other day when we were at the doctor's, he was asking Caleb all these leading questions, I guess to see what was really happening at home, anyway, he wanted to know who he shared a room with and whose bed did he sleep in, and who slept in his bed, so Caleb answered, "Tigger!" Well, that is what the doctor gets for asking!

Caleb's talent night

Last night, Caleb had his talent night at Pioneer Clubs. They did the Hokey Pokey. They were so cute!
Caleb has been sick, so I kind of felt bad about making him go, but he seemed to enjoy himself.
He looked so cute in his light blue shirt. He did not want to wear it though. He has a definite opinion about the clothes that he wears, which is hard for me because Nathanael and Jordan never cared about what clothes I picked out for them. I am just glad he got through the night without throwing up!

My dad's band

My dad was over last night and wanted to send this old picture of his band to my uncle. My dad is in the front row in the middle in the white jacket, and my uncle is the young boy in the middle in the back. I love looking at old pictures like this. It makes me sad though, the musical gene completely skipped me, everyone has a natural ability for music but me. Oh well, I am glad it has been passed to my kids!

"Night of the Arts"

Last night we had a "Night of the Arts" for our home school program. It was really a combination talent show/open house where the kids had a chance to either perform or display some of their school projects, etc..
Nathanael and Jordan each had some schoolwork on display.
It was a very cool night because we got to learn about some things some of the other home school kids in our program have been doing. This picture is of Rosalee and she is going to Washington D.C. for the national spelling bee in May!

We also found out we have a "movie star" in our program. His name is Soren Fulton and he has been in movies and on TV shows. His most recent movie was "Saving Sarah Cain." We have to go watch it now!


Jordan and his friend Jocelyn played a duet. They played the "Blue Danube Waltz." Jordan played the keyboard and she played the violin. They did a great job!
Jocelyn's little brother, Jason, sang a solo. Oh my gosh, he was so cute! He wasn't shy at all about being up on stage. He really got into it!
Unfortunately, by the end of the night Caleb started feeling sick. He slept for almost 45 minutes sitting on my mom's lap.
I had to get one more picture of Jordan before we left.
Here is the final outcome for Caleb. He is sick again. He has thrown up twice, including last night all over our new car! It was funny though, this morning Jordan had a doctor's appointment and I decided to take Caleb in too since we were already going to be there. I made Nathanael come with me. They said Caleb "just has a virus" so of course they did nothing. Jordan got a referral to another doctor, but poor Nathanael got two shots! He didn't even have an appointment. Oh well, at least we don't have to go back this summer.

Back to the Night of the Arts, I am so glad the kids had an opportunity to share what they have been doing. It was very inspiring and it was a great time for everyone to meet one another. We have a lot of older kids in our program and you never see them or hear about what they are doing. I loved it!

Scott is a colon

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

I'm very sad Scott wasn't a comma. Oh, well.

"Boys will be boys"

Today, Scott and Nathanael played paintball with some friends at an old military bunker in San Pedro.
As you can see, they take this very seriously.

Nathanael had a great time. He was ready for action.
Here is the whole crew.

I guess I shouldn't have said "boys will be boys" since Alison and her friend also played.
They came home tired, dirty and full of paint, but Nathanael can't wait to go back and play again.

A question mark???????

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Are you prepared?

We have started a new Bible study. It is a Joyful Life Bible study. It is on the books of Daniel and Haggai. Today, I had to write out a verse and then write my response to it.

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

What is your response to this exhortation?

Now to those who have been Christians for a while, this verse is not new. But the Lord really spoke to me through this verse this morning. It seems like lately, everyday almost, Scott or I have had an encounter or been given the opportunity to witness to someone, to talk to someone who is hurting or searching, or who is just asking questions, and I have realized that I have not always been prepared. I thought I was prepared, but when it comes right down to it, that is not always the case. We all need to be prepared and the only way that can happen is through our own relationship with the Lord. We need to have one. It has to be strong. It has nothing to do with anyone else, not a church, not a pastor, but one on one time with God, reading the Bible, everyday, not just on Sunday, praying without ceasing, constantly lifting our requests to the Lord and taking the time to listen to a response. We need to attend a church that teaches the Bible, all of it, not just parts of it. We need to have fellowship with Christians of all levels, new Christians, Christians of the same level, and more mature Christians, being able to help, being strengthened and being encouraged. Not looking to any man, but only to God. He is our strength, our all in all. Then and only then will we be prepared to give an answer, because then it won't be our answer, but God's answer, and God's answer is always perfect!