A mother's bible and baptism

I had the privilege of attending Cedarville University and one of our speakers made a profound impact on me as a mother today. A lot of speakers impacted me, but today I am talking about just one. And I don't even remember who it was. A man in his 50's I am guessing who held up a bible during chapel and said that he wrote all the time in his bibles. And then he did something amazing with them. He gave them to members of his family. The one he had in chapel that day I believe he said was for his grandson. 

So what does this have to do with me? Well, every Sunday, every conference, every bible study, I mark up my bible like crazy. Knowing that someday it is going to be passed on to one of my kids. I have one bible going for Avery that I started working on right after I heard that speaker. I have started one for Reece and Ellie as well. 

It seems that all of my kids have somehow made their mark and I sign and date it. It makes me smile when I land on that page.

I also tape things inside like character sheets and photos.

VERY excited to make this entry!

Making lots of marks.

After watching lots of baptisms at church and seeing their cousin Jonah baptized this is the new "activity"

Something we have been up to...

First I have to brag on my hubs a little bit. When I opened the microwave the other day this was hanging inside. I had just given the kids their stamp markers from Ikea and he apparently used them to make this note. Love him!

Another trip to Sweet Frog. Shane doesn't like it so the kids and I often go on Saturday afternoons during Ellie's nap. Sorry Ellie!

Reece and Avery

Driving into Ikea. I heard angels singing when I pulled up!

We squeezed in a quick trip to Nashville (more pics later) and got to see Granny.

This hydrangea has got to be one of the most gorgeous I have seen. The petals are HUGE. And such a deep color. Love having them bloom all season long.

My little man. Growing into such a big help and so incredibly smart!

Such a pretty sweet girl and getting so big!

Brooklyn Academy of Arts and Sciences

Here is our school room. I debated about even posting it because it just so happens that it is getting a makeover this weekend. But here is what it looks like today, in all its glory. Enjoy the papers and markers everywhere, ha!

This is the cart that I just got at IKEA. I wish it would have told me to buy the little cups that hang off the side, but alas it it cupless.

These gold walls are on their way out. Saturday it is getting painted white up 2/3 of the wall and then trimmed out. Those of you know this gold color as OOPS that is really OOPS. AKA baby poop! This desk in the corner is where I sit. Hubs made the chalkboard and the rug is from Overstock.com This is technically the dining room in our house, but having the schoolroom on the main level and out of the basement has been awesome!

The piano has to be in here because we have an open concept house, 27 windows and so many doorways that there is no wall long enough to put it on. I am trying to make it "work" with the decor and I think the pop of white will help once it is painted. The work boxes to the left are still getting organized as this will be our first year using them.

Thanks for stopping by!

***Well Planned Day GIVEAWAY***

My Well Planned Day is giving away a FREE year of their planner software to ONE 

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My Well Planned Day now has an online planning software for homeschoolers. I was able to try this software out over the last couple weeks and have been really pleased with it. If you like to plan anything from school assignments to grocery lists this software has all those options. I can plan my budget, make to- do lists and even create chore charts!

As with anything new, it took me a few times of clicking on various buttons until I really got a feel for the layout. And HomeEducatingFamily also posted this video that helped me a lot with lesson plans. Check out this link to see the planner in action.

The thing that I LOVE about it is that I can put as much or as little into it as I want. I can plan every minute of every day and make lists and schedules for everything. Or I can just work in the homeschool planner itself. The versatility of this product is endless!

I still have a lot to learn, especially since they keep adding MORE cool features, but will continue to blog throughout the school year how I am implementing it into my day. 



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The legalities....
I did receive this software for free to try, but the opinions are mine and I am not getting paid for this.
This giveaway is not connected to any social media site
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Curriculum for 2012-2013

This hasn't been organized yet. But I am going to try the workbox system this year. If you google it you can get a lot of info on it. I will do a separate post on this in the future once I get it all set-up.

We are using What's in the Bible DVD's for our curriculum along with Apologia's Who is God?

I will be using the Sonlight K for Reece this year. I also used it for Avery so it is nice to finally get to re-use things I have purchased in the past. I am using the Science curriculum out of it for both, but have a few things to expand on for Avery.

We are using Confessions of a Homeschooler literature guides. Avery and I fell in love with these Penguin Classics from seeing them on Life in Grace blog from Edie. So I started ordering a couple of them each month until I ended up with all the ones we are going to read over the next couple of years.

A Reason for Handwriting is our curriculum this year for Reece. We are using Classically Cursive for Avery.

Here are some of the extra science readers we are using with Avery. A focus on nature and animals and some of it she will compile on her own.

Road Trip USA, from Confessions of a Homeschooler, will be our geography and history program. Because Avery is also loving American Girls right now we are reading books from each era too. The picture shows some extra fun games and puzzles that we can add in when we have time.

Avery is using Sonlight's second grade Language Arts with lots of readers.

We transitioned this summer to Math U See and the kids seem to really love it.

This is the file box that I will pull "fun" activities from for the workboxes. More info on this to come with the workbox post.

One thing I want to do this year is a getting the kids to pray for others each day. I found this idea on pinterest. I bought a mug at the dollar store, wrote on it in permanent marker, and baked in the oven. 

Reading about missionaries, martyrs, and hymns.

Math U See blocks and Dot markers-their new favorite things!

Explode the Code has become a staple in our house and both kids will be doing it. Reece is on book B and Avery will be doing 3-5.

So there you have it. School starts in the Carver house on September 4th. We have schooled throughout the summer and take August off to finish projects and lesson plan. Leave a comment if you have any questions or need a link.

Learning to sew

FRO YO!

At sweet frog-- yum yum!!