Golf, beds, and tot heads, but not in that order=)

Okay I know it seems crazy to have two posts in one day but I have a lot I want to get out today so the rest of my week can be dedicatied to otherly important things=)

First for our awesome adventures in tot school click on this link and see all the cool things I did with our 3 year old last week.

Second my very cute, very neat hubby made this nifty neat bed from scratch. No kit, no online bed making plans. He just looked at my son's bed and tried to duplicate it, isn't it brilliant!




And drum roll please, here are us Cannon's playing golf: all most all pictures are courtesy of our 3 year old as we all suck so bad that we did not have time to stop and take them ourselves or we would have been there all day instead of the absurd 5 hours it normally takes us;-) Speed golf, gotta love it! okay well here are pictures of us on our 3rd trip to play golf at the local golf course. Oh did I mention we suck, well more like I do! My big boy does pretty well for 11 and not played much golf, and my husband, while he is not nor will he ever be Tiger he's fairly good. If I were him I would not bring me...but he seems to like to bring us. He even got us all clubs! Well I don't keep score for me because it's hard to keep track after 9 strokes! But in 18 holes Stuntman got a 63 and the big cheese got a 47. Not bad for just having cancer-and the surgery and chemo that went with it less than 6 months ago plus gallbladder surgery a few weeks ago aye?

picture altered to protect the innocent fat

Stuntman taking a practice swing

my hubby always looking for someones lost balls, roflol!


me trying to show little thunder how to use the camera

Me actually hitting the ground with the club in anger!

Hubby taking a practice swing

Me really not liking how crappy I played, don't worry I got in a better mood after this! Hubby was good with tips=)

trying to swing at a little ball and make it go 300 yards in 3 strokes are less...(snort) yeah right! I do love hanging out with my family and I pray I get better because when that ball does go flying, it makes me realize why guys love it so. I just think this sport is hard! You have to think about where your feet are, your arms, the club, the ball and then make those all come together to shoot a little ball with a little club across a giant field! I am not that talented folks!

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Life with Cancer part 3...Treatment

Heads up to those who read this and don't know us personally our walk through cancer is in the very recent past. My husband is now in remission I just write this to share with friends, family and anyone who feels they may grow closer to the Lord from this. I will not be going into the gruesome details, so rest assured it will be a clean reading.


okay this part of my husband's cancer is hard! I will not give all the details. I will just give an outline of what happened.

We went to a chemo class to learn about what kind of treatment my husband would get. He was told he would be getting 3 different meds and that the major side affects of all were hair loss. The other major side affect was sickness but the nurse said that it was not usually as hard on men. So we felt pretty good about that. His treatments were spread out over 4 months. They went something like this: he had 21 day treatments day 1-5 he got treatments every day, then he also got a treatment on day 9 and then again on 16 he got a break until day 21 then it started over 3 more times .

I went with him on his first treatment and while we both wished I could be there with him every day (they did not allow kids or a second person) we knew the kids could not be without us both that much. So we decided the best plan would be for the kids and I to drive him to his treatments, stay with a friend and do school with the kids and then when he was done go home. This friend was the wife of his work friend, and they were so cool to help us out! She had the most warm, home you could imagine! She was so sweet, and kind to allow us to stay there! This is her blog she is very inspirational! I pray we get to spend more time with them in the future!

Okay the treatment pretty much put my husband out of commission! That is pretty much all that needs to be said. He could barely work-and pretty much didn't-he was so blessed by a super nice boss! All of my husband's work friends were just the bomb!! All he could do was sleep on the couch. I never felt so bad for him in my life! It was hard to see such a tough man so crushed. Nuff said!

He did lose his hair around the second week. We decided that because we had a 3 year old the best thing to do was let him see daddy shaving his head so it would not shock him...that did not go as well as I had thought it would. While it was probably a good thing he saw daddy shave his head, he was still totally freaked about it and did not really want anything to do with his daddy for about 3 days. finally he warmed up and eventually did not mind at all. He knew daddy was sick and he knew his hair would grow back. He actually did well while his daddy was sick and pretty much left him alone on the couch. I think he took it really well.

For me his treatments to rid his body of cancer was my time to try and rid my self of many issues I had. And while I have not accomplished that to date, I am ever grateful to have had the time to reflect on many things and draw closer to the Lord instead of resenting Him for this tragedy. Before my husband's cancer I really felt I had lost touch with God. I let my sin's divide me from Him instead of leaning on him more! It is hard to turn to someone when your ashamed of your sins!

It was also a time for us to listen to the Lord and see what he wanted us to gain from this. For me it was #1 to lean on Him more and #2 to learn to not only be an example to my children at home but to get out more and fellowship with others so they can see the Lord in our family. It is SOOOO easy to hide in your home and do nothing with your life! You can say oh well I mentor my children and that is a great thing, but in that mentorship teaching the kids to feed and shelter children, to help the widowed etc. can not only be taught but should be seen being done by you. I felt that and so I am breaking out of my shell more. It is a slow process for me but I am making the changes. My husband said that he thinks the Lord was showing him that he should not be working so much. And even though it is nice to get the house paid off early it was not an important thing. I will cover more of that in part 4 along with how it has helped my children grow in the Lord.

Well that is about all I have to say about his treatment. My husband is my hero for going though such an ordeal!

Next is part 4 rehabilitation and life after cancer...my favorite part of the story. I am actually looking forward to telling this part because cancer, and chemo have changed my husband! It has changed us all and I will go though each of us and tell of the changes. This ordeal has a light at the end of the tunnel and it never looked so sweet. Our Lord is the most awesomeist ever. I can not wait to be with Him...hence the 'missing you' logo at the top of my blog. While I love my life and I want to live a full one, I can only imagine!

I pray this has brought you closer to the Lord.

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The Artist/Dreamer

Okay I took this test and did this tag because this cool blogger had posted she had done it and I just can not step away from a test that might tell me who I am...like I don't already know=) Well I guess I am hoping it will tell me something about myself that I don't already know, and in a way this time it sort of did.

First 6 random things about me, well I have already done this, but I will do a simple version with 6 different things.

1. I am known around here as the square. I like things square...square cars, square plates, square tables, square glasses, etc. If it's square I usually like it


2. I'm a June Cleaver, Martha Stewart wanabe. Keep in mind I don't like Martha's Halloween worship though. I love that June is always put together and...clever (corny pun intended) With Martha she makes everything seem "a good thing" I swear I think that women could sell me poop!

3. I LOVE TO DEBATE! I hate that everyone does not...they think I am fighting, or arguing...It seriously irratates me how much people avoid debating.

4. My favorite bible verse is:

Matthew 22

37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38This is the first and great commandment.

39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

5. When I met my husband I thought he was a dork cuz he walked with his chin held real high. Who knew I was right, lol he's so cute though!

6. I am a dreamer more than a doer, I so hate that!

Your turn!


The test says I am an Artist/Creator!

Okay the first part says I march to the beat of a different drum, or better yet I hear that beat. Okay I will give you that. It says I tend to go with cool trends...with clothes yes with decor...NO WAY!!! I hate 'modern decor'! Yeah maybe a few pieces are cool and can go with my warm, and comfy decor but not that stiff clean lines crap! And I don't go with cool trends because they are cool, I usually don't realize it's cool, I just walk into a store and say holly molly that is cute! It's that simple. I can't help it if every new year the trendz hit my WOW spot. I am the kind of person though who will wear that trend years after it's over cuz I still like it. That and I never EVER spend more than a few bucks for name brand trends...usually at department stores, shirts $3-4, pants $7, shoes $5 for dressy $15 for name brand athletic. I buy them out of season on clearance and then wear them the next year. Most of the time department stores get rid of stuff before the season is over so I can wear it a few more times that season before I store it away.

The other part says I am private...um I don't agree, more like I like the closeness of everything. I don't let it all hang out but I don't hid much from those close to me.

I would have NEVER called myself artistic, and yet when I read it, it sounds like me...so I guess I am. I love building or working on my blog, I LOVE taking pictures, I love scrapbooking, I love decorating, so to say I am artistic, I should have known! I am just such a planner/organizer that it seems hard to say you are both...ya know?

About the ISFP

Expert Quotes & Links

"...first to hear the different drummer. Many eagerly plunge into new fashions, avant garde experiences, 'hip' trends--some even setting the trends. More in touch with the reality of their senses than their INFP counterparts, ISFPs live in the here and now. Their impulses yearn to be free, and are often loosed when others least expect it. The ISFP who continually represses these impulses feels 'dead inside'..." - ISFP Profile (TypeLogic) "...easily disturbed, fears drawing attention to self, prone to confusion, private..." - Jung Type Descriptions (ISFP) (similarminds.com) "...excel in the "fine arts," having not only a natural grace of movement, but also an innate sense what fits and what doesn't fit in artistic compositions..." - The Portrait of the Composer Artisan (Keirsey)

"ISFPs live in the world of sensation possibilities. They are keenly in tune with the way things look, taste, sound, feel and smell. They have a strong aesthetic appreciation for art, and are likely to be artists in some form, because they are unusually gifted at creating and composing things which will strongly affect the senses." - Portrait of an ISFP (The Personality Page) "At work, ISFPs contribute by attending to the practical facts relating to the needs of people and all living things in their environments. They can infuse a particular knod of joy into cooperative nature. Because they pay attention to the humanistic aspects of the organization, they act in ways that ensure others' well-being. People enjoy ISFPs because they bring understanding yet adaptability to the realities of their work." - ISFP - The Aesthete (Lifexplore)

Tot school and big boy school

Okay first tot school:

This is a great adventure to have with your tot and if you click on the elephant's above you can join us on that adventure. My blog on tot school is Wee-school Pre-school it is so much fun! Did I already say that?

Okay now homeschooling with my big boy. First step by step break down of his school and then how he did in Archery at the STATE competition! Super cool!

Okay here is the break down of our school:

Bible time: we will be starting that this week!

Reading: Everyday we have been reading this book called Boys of Grit! By far it is the coolest boy's book you will ever read. It's about real life boys that grow up in poor or bad circumstances that really prevail into a neat life. Some are people like them man who invented the submarine, the Morse code, became famous singers, bible scholars, entomologist, etc. They have 3 of them and right now and I own two. I was getting them from the library but I really thought my son needed them so we could read them over and over, and we do. If you have boys get these books! The publishers have many great books for boys and girls! We will be starting a new lamplighter book this week!

Spelling: Stuntman is flying through spelling. I don't know if I told everyone or not but he is reading at maybe a 3-5 grade level but spelling at a 1st grade level while in the 7th grade. So all of his words are 1st grade words. I do plan on adding higher grade level words but I am so happy with how well he is flying through 1st grade and enjoying it at this website that I have left well enough alone.

History: So far he has learned about Creation, Adam and Eve, Jubal and Tubal-Cain, and Noah and the Flood plus he did all of his activities. I love how this book teaches about bible history right alone side of the rest of world history. I took pictures then accidentally deleted them so I will have to get more of those next week. We finally started our time line but we left part of it at his grandparents so when I get that I will also get pictures. He is ahead in this subject, always makes a mama happy to be ahead!

Science: We are doing Apologia and this is the first curriculum I have gotten without really looking at it and mulling it over in my head for months. It is so cool!!! It first covered the history of science then my son got to do his first experiment, with water, oil, corn syrup, a cork, grape and a rock. Betcha can't figure out what he did, yep density. Then I think it's followed by a test...not sure yet. I love scripturally based school work! I really like that we got the CD, it's the teacher. Which I don't usually like anyone else to be the teacher but sometimes it's nice for me to have a break!

Math: Same old same old Stuntman is good at math and it seems easy for him. I am going to have my husband check his work but so far it should be right because it's a repeat from last year. I think with future kids I am going to use Math-U-See, I just don't care for Saxon!

KONOS: This class is really fun for us! We get to build stuff, or look stuff up, or write stuff, or listen to stuff. The first week we worked on sound, he built an ear, learned the parts of the ear, and did experiments with sounds. He continuted this last week as well. The scriptures given talk about listening, the experiments pertain to listening, etc. Today we got a timer -ya know the one that goes tick tick and hid it so that we had to really listen to find it. It's just super easy. I don't follow any big schedule on this I just give him the lessons I have the supplies to and he does them...nice and simple! This book is a keeper! Great for scripture learning!

Private bible time and writing to the Lord: we will start that this week as well.

Okay this year in 4-H Stuntman will be doing so much, he has archery, wildlife, beef, photography, gardening, geospatial, entomology, rabbits, just to name a few. We really enjoy archery. I plan on taking a class to get certified for an extreme survival class and taking the kids into the middle of nowhere and trying to find our way back! So cool!

Okay the best part how well Stuntman did at State! We had to drive to Columbia Mo about 3 hours away. Wow long trip! We had to be there a 9:30 well actually an hour early. So here are the pictures

Us waiting for our time...so glad they made us come early!Finally Stuntman's turn!~

Can you see that, I got a pic of the arrow in the air...you don't know how long I have been trying to do that! Very cool pic huh? Oh and if you can't see the arrow it's the orange thing in the tree line.Okay so how he did. First let me explain the scoring. Stuntman gets to shoot 5 arrows each round. And each round he can get up to 25 points. The x in the middle is a tie breaker. He gets 12 rounds plus 2 practices, for a total of 300 points. His score was........drum roll please 224!!!!!!!!!!! He was hoping to get over 200 so he was very please with 224! At a regional competition (his first competition) his score was 187 and we all thought that was pretty darn cool for his first year at archery. Then at State in his first year of archery he gets a 224! We Could not be prouder of him! Sad part is he is a natural. So if he really tried he could easily get a 300!!!! Boy you should see some of those kids out there. The arrows are all dead center; even some girls were pretty cool. It was fun for us to all watch them! Here is Stuntman with his best round...it happened to be his last round. He got a 24! I don't know if you can see it but all are in the center but one and it was just a little to the right. He plans on going Deer hunting this week and I don't think he should have too much trouble getting a deer with a bow instead of a gun!

I pray this was enjoyable to read even though it was long. Don't forget to go over and see all that Little Thunder did this week.

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How I keep from losing my job!

Well we all know that a house wife is a full time job and add homeschool to the mix and your just bogged down with stuff to do. I know most 'out of the house' working people probably don't see it that way but we homeschool mom's know we never stop working. Between the chores THAT NEVER END BECAUSE THE KIDS ARE HOME ALL DAY the errands we must run because WE ARE AT HOME ALL DAY SO WE MUST HAVE PLENTY OF TIME the homeschooling we do which I know my list says it takes 4 hours but really...it takes more than that, their is the missing assignment, the baby interrupting, my grading, filing, making the next day’s schedule I bet it's more like 6 hours a day when all is said and done! Then there is also the normal day to day stuff like dinner, laundry, dishes, etc. It's a full time job!

So in this full time job you can get so lost without a schedule right? I have been doing one that I like and I posted it earlier but how do I stay on task, how do I not lose the schedule, etc. I am going to explain what so far has worked for me.

First I think of the schedule as a must. Yet I don't want a minute by minute guide to my day so I can do stuff like this (posting) with my morning instead of working out. I also make my schedule give us plenty-beyond plenty of room. (I scheduled 2 hours for chores when they actually take 1 hour) so we never get off schedule because the boys were playing, they broke something, or because someone called, etc. Most of the school time is actual school time so I have learned that if an interruption happens then we can eat into other time, like the way over scheduled lunch hour or the 2 hours of free time after school. I made sure to cover my ground. I also gave myself time in the morning for errands (8-10) and in the afternoon (3-5) if need be. If I know that I have something to do out of the house, I try to do those chores either really fast, the night before, or skip what I don't have to do.

Also about how I keep the schedule, if you read my old post you know my schedule system. Well I changed it up just a bit. First I no longer keep my white board next to the computer, instead I keep it on the frig. and instead of one big white board I purchased two smaller magnetic ones. One has an erasable calendar which I write all that is going on for the month and each person has their own color on the white board. So if Stuntman has something going on all his projects for the month are written in green, and so on. This is really neat to have. The other white board has my daily list of "to do" for the day. This white board includes all non-scheduled items like errands or extra cleaning that needs to be done. I also have the grocery list and the dinner for that day on there. I just erase the dinner from last night and right the new dinner. This also helps me to not forget to pull something out for dinner because when I grab breakfast out of the frig, the word dinner is staring me in the face. The grocery list on the frig is so cool because the markers are right there and as I run out of something I am not looking for a pen.

Okay now to keep track of my schedule. Well I use to have it taped to the white board but there is no room on my frig for that so I tacked the schedule on the wall next to the frig and pantry. This way I still see if first thing in the morning and throughout the day, it reminds me to stay on task. I think we all had it memorized after day 3 so it's not too hard to do. I like easy stuff!

Well I hope that helps other moms out there. I got my white boards for I think about 5-6 dollars each at Wal-Mart and they came with magnets and 1 black marker. I think I got my colored markers from Wal-Mart with magnets on them and stuck them on the frig as well.

you can see at the bottom of the calendar I do have a small version of our schedule. It does not have the detail list of our chores or school but it has the time of when we are suppose to be doing curtain things.

I pray this helps you as much as it has helped me. Now if someone can tell me how to keep my desk uncluttered that would be great!

Latte

Okay this school year is so far so good, but super crazy busy! The main reason it's so busy right now is my dear sweet husband decided to take me on a small vacation to "Aa de La Hospital" for 3 days and 3 nights. We did not get the private suite though, but we did have cable! Can you say FOOD NETWORK? And get this my husband did not eat almost the whole time we were there. I don’t know how someone can watch cooking shows all day and not eat! It seems he needed some stones removed from his gal-bladder (and the bladder itself) and the extra stay was because his pancreas was going kuku from it. So when I got home I was husband, wife, mom, and teacher!!!!!! Bet you did not know I could be all that did ya?

Well school last week went smooth aside from my having to hold the fort down. We did most everything on time and completed all the work. The only thing I need to do is look at his math to make sure he is ‘getting’ the work he is doing. I got into a stump last year where I hated grading math because there were SO MANY PROBLEMS! So I told Stuntman this year that if he got them most of his problems right he could cut back on how many he did...do you really need to do about 40 or more problems every day? and most being repetitive? Okay I now what your thinking so I will help you feel better, my house is super trashed! And not the normal everyday trashed, more like almost gross trashed! So I might have got school covered, but the rest is just a joke!


I forgot to add on my last blog about our school year that we homeschool year round...kinda have to because I will can not be tide down to this house 7 hours a day for 180 days (NOT INCLUDING WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS) I really don't have the stomach for that venture. I like saying on a Tuesday..."guess what today is a holiday" for no reason what so ever! Homeschooling year round also gives us EVERY Friday off for a 3 day weekend, long holidays so when my husband gets 11 days off for Christmas (that's right ladies, don't be jealous that I get my man for 11 or more days in December-though I SO my husband would like it in June so he could get more of his 'Hunny Do' list done) So year round schooling works out great this way. And because we homeschool year round we are able to do school 4 days 4 hours each day, isn't that super easy for all involved? And because our state law requires 1000 hours this alone gives us around 800. The rest he gets from 4-H, Field Trips, Life Lessons, Community Service, Bible Study, Educational shows and very little weekend homework.


I have a lot more I would like to post but there just is not enough time in the day, so for now....I will leave you with a teaser! I plan to post in the up coming weeks on 'Life with Cancer part 3'-if you have not read part 1 and part 2 now would be a good time. I also plan to post about why we vote republican-and our take on the parties running and their issues, about my homeschool favorites-I have many great ones I can't wait to share!, and many many more, I just can't remember them right now.

Latte