SURPRISE!!!

Look who surprised me this Thanksgiving! They walked in a few hours before we ate (I had just pulled the turkey out). :-)  My oldest son is a senior at WCBC, he has never been home on a Thanksgiving, my second son is a sophmore, he has never been home on Thanksgiving either. I am so blessed!

That's #2 (Brett) with my niece. Love my boys, and my awesome husband for keeping this secret for a month!

Busy, Busy

We are moving into the "Busy" time of the year! Next week starts our missions conference (our personal favorite time of year), Thanksgiving and then Christmas! Busy, busy, busy...But I love it! It's the greatest time of year and I wouldn't change a thing!

Serving

The children serving.



Just thought I would show some random homeschool pictures.

 Relaxing while mom reads a story

 Studying God's Word

 1st Day of School ~ we made card houses 

Jacob's House

 Grace's house

 Luke's Corral

Laura's horse barn



Bribery

The beginning of our summer break (June & July) I told #3 that if he read 1000 pgs. by the end of the summer he could get the Lego City Police Command Truck (I think that's what it's called) . I told #4 that if he read 700 pgs. he could get the Lego City Fire boat. Neither one of my younger 2 boys are "readers."  Well, #4 read all 700 pgs. in about 4 wks. #3 on the other hand, well he was taking his time. We ended up moving the last 2 weeks of our summer so I gave #3 an extra 2 weeks.

Today #4's boat arrived via post office...

I must say, that my little bit of bribery seems to have worked, they both seem much more interested in reading actual chapter books, especially #4. Whatever it takes. :-D

Home Again

We just got back from a five day camping trip to Yosemite. I finally got to go back to my most favorite place ever, Tuolumne Meadows, it's in upper Yosemite about 9,000 ft. up. Now that our camping trip is over we can now get back in the swing of things. It's been a busy summer to say the least, but things should settle down and we can start our school routine. We start school on Tuesday, so I need to finish putting the school room together (it's the only room I haven't finished unpacking).  I also need to do some last minute school planning, like I said, it's been a crazy summer. This is the latest I've ever gone without being totally prepared. :p 

View from bridge in Tuolumne Meadows

Moving, Moving, Moved!

So, this week started with us moving and ended with unpacking...sigh... Two of my NOT so favorite things to do! :\  We didn't have internet service until Thursday, YIKES!!! Well, we're up and running now, still unpacking though. One other thing, our oldest boys were home from their summer internships this week. Brett got home last Saturday (and leaves for WCBC on Mon. morning) from the Jewish outreach in NY, and Tim got home Tuesday from Surrey, British Columbia (and left Wed. night for WCBC after church). I love my boys and am happy to see them any chance we get, which isn't much, but God is good and gave us this time with them.

Well, when I get a chance I'll be posting some pictures of the new house and of my boys. Our pastor had the boys give a short testimony of their summers and they sang (along with a college friend of theirs, Matt Hodge). They were a blessing. :-)

Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow, I know I will!

Christine
Phil. 4:13

Back to School...

It's that time of the year again, everyone is posting their back to school curriculum. This year has flown by so fast! I can't believe that my youngest is 6 and my oldest is 21 and a senior in Bible College, crazy!  Life goes by so fast, if you blink you'll miss it. Trying not to blink to much, lol :)

So, here's an overview:

Jacob:
Bible Reading- ACE
History/Geography- SOS
Math- Teaching Textbooks
Real Science 4 Kids- Queen Homeschool
Language Arts- Queen Homeschool
Word Builder- ACE
My State Sutdy- Queen Homeschool
Pictures in Cursive- Queen Homeschool
Copywork- Queen Homeschool
ASL- See It and Sign It

Luke:
Bible Reading- ACE
History (A living History of Our World VL 1)-Queen Homeschool
Math-Teaching Textbooks
Science (nature journal)- Queen Homeschool
Language Arts- Queen Homeschool

Word Builder- ACE
Picture in Cursive- Queen Homeschool
Copywork- Queen Homeschool
ASL- See It and Sign It

Laura:
Bible
History-Various Living Books
Math- Math Mammoth
Nature journal/living books
Hooked on Phonics
Community Helpers- Color of Language
ASL- See It and Sign It

Grace:
Bible
Math- Math U See
Hooked on Phonics
Community Helpers- Color of Language
ASL- See It and Sign It

We learn ASL (American Sign Language) together as a family, this year I found this awesome curriculum at our local Homeschool Convention. I bought both volumes as we can use the first as a review and really dive into the second one. Because Grace is deaf this is obviously very important for us as a family to master, so I pass  what we finish along to extended family and friends.  The community helpers that the girls will be doing together is part of a curriculum written to teach deaf/hh children. I love this web sight (Color of Language), now that Grace is older I will be utilizing this sight much more than I have in the past. If any of you out there want to learn sign language in your homeschool this is an excellent web page to check out. It can work with hearing as well as non-hearing children (and us adults also. ) ;) 

Time to get to some packing, yes we plan on moving as soon as the Lord provides us with the house that He has for us to live in. We want/need to be closer to our church. Praying He moves us soon.

Happy Homeschool Planning,
Christine
Phil. 4:13

VBS ~ Rev It Up! Full throttle for God!

We just finished up our VBS, it was a blast! The children had the greatest time, and God blessed!

TOS - Warehouse Wipeout

Warehouse Wipeout

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$104.75 $25.00
Save: 76% off

Clearing out the Warehouse Special!
$104.75
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While supplies last, help us clean out the TOS warehouse and purchase $104.75 worth of products for only $25! Here's what you'll receive:
• SEVEN TOS back issues ($69.30 value)
• Homeschooling with Heart tote bag ($24.95 value)
• Surprise bonus gift
• Free Shipping ($10.50 value)

Enjoy hundreds of pages of practical content . . . designed by your fellow homeschoolers—for you! Grab some encouragement and fill your shelves with a box of seven inspirational TOS back issues (publishers' choice)!

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Spread the word about this promotion on Facebook, Twitter, down your list of friends or on your blog and receive up to four additional bonus surprise gifts. You'll receive one additional item for each mention you make. Share on Facebook and receive ONE additional surprise item. Tell your Facebook friends and tweet about the clearance sale, and you'll receive TWO additional surprise items.

Talk about the sale on Facebook or blast it down your email list (support group or large list of homeschooling friends), tweet it and write about it on your blog and you will receive FOUR additional surprise items. To receive your bonus gifts, you MUST note in the comments section of your store order (or you can use the dropdown box provided there) to share how you told your friends and spread the word about TOS Warehouse Wipeout. We will then toss in your goodies to really round out your mystery box!

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*Don't forget-receive up to four additional bonus gifts by telling everyone you know about this special. To receive your bonus gifts, mention in the comments section (or dropdown) in your store order whether you shared this crazy offer on Facebook, Twitter, your blog and/or your email list. We'll then get busy selecting your extras to go in your tote!

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com

Summer Fun

It's been in the 100's this week, so the children have been having great fun cooling off.

Happy 4th of July!

Declaration of Indepence

...We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 10th birthday Jacob (#3), and Happy 6th birthday Grace (#6)!!!!! You're both miracles in two different ways, Jacob because we never thought we would have anymore and God blessed us with you. Grace, because, well because you are here with us to celebrate your 6th birthday!
God is good ALL  the time!!!

                                                                              Grace 3/4 months old

                                                                                Jacob 6 months old

The Old Time Religion

Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It’s good enough for me

It was good for the Hebrew children
It was good for the Hebrew children
It was good for the Hebrew children
And it’s good enough for me

It will bring you out of bondage
It will bring you out of bondage
It will bring you out of bondage
And it’s good enough for me

It will do when the world’s on fire
It will do when the world’s on fire
It will do when the world’s on fire
And it’s good enough for me

It was good for our mothers.
It was good for our mothers.
It was good for our mothers.
And it’s good enough for me.

Makes me love everybody.
Makes me love everybody.
Makes me love everybody.
And it’s good enough for me.

It has saved our fathers.
It has saved our fathers.
It has saved our fathers.
And it’s good enough for me.

It will do when I am dying.
It will do when I am dying.
It will do when I am dying.
And it’s good enough for me.

It will take us all to heaven.
It will take us all to heaven.
It will take us all to heaven.
And it’s good enough for me.

:'-(

So, today the boys left for their summer ministries. Timothy is driving up to B.C. Canada, and Brett is flying to Brooklyn, NY. Each time they come home and leave again gets harder than the time before. :\  We're praying for them to have safe trips and for them to be a blessing and to be blessed and grow in the Lord during this time.  It's hard to believe that when Timothy returns to school he will be a senior and Brett will be a sophmore! Crazy!!

Picnic Fun

Today we had a picnic in the park for our two oldest boys. It was so family and friends could visit with the boys before they leave for the summer and to celebrate #1's 21st birthday. His birthday isn't untill July, but he won't be here, so we had it early. A great time was had by all. 

 Standish Family

 Taylor Family

Fun at the Park

22 years and counting...

So today I celebrate 22 years of being Mrs. Mel Taylor Jr. It has been an adventure for sure. We have been on the mountain top and been through some deep, dark valleys! There is no one on this earth I would rather travel this adventurous life with than my husband. He is my SUPERMAN!!! :-)

All together!!!

Finally, all together (if only for two weeks).

The Taylor Six!

Happy Mother's Day

  To all those out there who are mothers both physically and spiritually, hope you have a blessed  Mother's Day, and a blessed Lords Day!


Proverbs 31:28  Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

                                                               My sister, myself, my nanny (grandma) and my mom.
                                                                              

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Come to the Cross

Look to the cross of the Lamb of God, Lay all your guilt on Him;
 Freely His life blood He sacrificed, Paying the debt of your sin.

Stand by the tomb where His body lay, Hear how the mourners cry.
If they but knew why the Savior came- Jesus left heaven to die.

Kneel at the throne of your risen Lord, Death now has lost its sting;
Thanks be to God for the victory, Hail to your conquering King.

Come to the cross upon Calvary, Gaze on the scene a-new;
Turn from your sin to the Savior, There Jesus waits for you.

                                ~ Ron Hamilton ~

Spring Break

Enjoying our spring break this month, anyone else out their enoying theirs yet? We are doing an Unit Study on Easter but that's it! We're just enjoying the beginning of spring and all that goes with it. 

This last month has been quite sad. One of my dearest friends lost her sister in a tragic car accident.  She left behind a wonderful husband and their 10 children (7 of which are still home).  She was a wonderful lady who loved the Lord and loved her family, she is terribly missed, but we know we have the hope of seeing her again. 

Last weekend another one of my dear friends much loved grandfather passed away. While they knew his time was coming it's still very difficult. Unfortunately what makes his passing so difficult is that he was not saved. The family has gone above and beyond in witnessing to him, but as far as they now he did not accept Christ before his death.

Both of these families need our prayers, please remember them when you go before the throne.

Ahhh... Spring!

Can you feel it? It coming...

The History of the Apron..

I borrowed this from a fellow bloggers post, enjoy...


The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.






It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.



From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.



When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.



And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.



Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood

stove.



Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.



From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. Af ter th e peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls



In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.



When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.



When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.



It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.





REMEMBER:



Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.



Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.



They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.



I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron--except love.

God's Goodness

God is good ALL the time! The older I get, the more I grow in the Lord the more I see God's goodness and mercy in my life. No matter how dark, rough, and nearly impossibe life can seem to get, the more God manifests His goodness in my life. The more I can trust that He will help me through whatever it is I'm going through. The last year and a half  was probably some of the most difficult times I've had, even more difficult that when Grace was in the hospital. But because I've seen God do so much in my life and the life of others, I knew He'd get me through in His perfect way and time. And you know what, He did!

Psalms 73:1 <> Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.

Whew!

So, after 15 yrs. of homeschooling on the diningroom table we have a schoolroom! I finally conceded to my dh and turned the bedroom not being used into the schoolroom. Our church had some desks they were not using for their school so our pastor let me have 4 of them. The children are excited about using them.

I have to admit that having all of this in one room and out of my dining room is nice. I can decorate my dining room (which makes dh very happy). Now I get to finish re-organizing the rest of the house. :-p  Once that's finished I hope to get the girls bunkbeds made and get them moved out of our room and into the boys room. Don't worry, boys will change in the bathroom or our room, there will still be modesty going on around here! ;-) 

Just in case you're wondering why the girls sleep in our room when there was a perfectly good room for them: Well, our youngest dd is deaf, a lot of deaf children like/need to sleep with someone. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night when you're a little one and you can't hear anything, can be kinda scary. It's a security thing. The other dd won't sleep by herself, so, they are in our room for now. We are planning on moving them in with the boys in a couple of weeks so at least our oldest dd won't be sleeping alone. Grace doesn't need me sleeping next to her all night anymore (most of the time), hopefully next will be her going to sleep w/out me. But I'm sure I'll be sleeping in the children's room quite a bit.  We are looking into possibly getting her a dog to sleep with and be trained to be a service dog for her when she gets a little older, praying about it right now.

It's funny, when our older two boys were little we were militant about not letting them sleep with us, well God sure changed that! There are nights now where the 4 that are still at home are all in our room, hahaha I think its pretty funny. Not so sure about dh though! haha ;-D

Getting Ready...

So, who's getting ready for the next school year? Well, I am. Actually, I pretty much have next year planned out as far a curriculumn goes, it's just getting it all layed out and organized, that's what takes up most of my time. The older each child gets, the easier their day becomes, the younger ones still take up the bulk of my planning time. Especially my youngest, she has a language issue, so hers requires more prayer, patience and planning.

Well, time to get moving (have some serious room re-arranging to do). Turning one of the rooms into a school/playroom.

Strange & Sad

Today was the first time in 3 years we didn't go to FBC, it felt sad and strange. You see, my dh resigned as the pastor last Sunday.  :-(  This is a decision that has been prayed over for a long time (more him than me, I prayed for him but knew that no matter how I feel, it is ultimitely between him and God. Not easy to say the least!). Many reasons go into a decision like this, most of which I won't discuss here (nothing immoral), but I will say that when God wants us to make a change in our life plans, we better make the change!  It's a confusing time for the younger children, so we are doing our best to help them understand on each of their levels. Please pray for us as we make yet another transition in our lives, I just want to please God and serve Him with my life. I desire to be the wife and mother God intends for me to be. This last year has been very difficult, so I'm praying that this new year will bring more positive things for our family. I pray we will grow closer to our Savior and have a hunger and desire for the things of God more than we've ever had before!

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

I know one thing for sure, God is good ALL the time!

We've had quite a bit of fog here in the central valley lately, so it was nice when it lifted in the afternoon to let the sun shine! Made for lifted spirits and some good play time outside! Just like the true SON, when He shines in your life it makes the days less dreary!                                                          

 

Tea party/picnic in between playtime

I will say, after I put this picture on my computer I realized just how bad the boy need haircuts, the girls need trims too! ;-)

Cupcakes

So today the heater went out, to stay warm the girls baked cupcakes...



 baking mini's

 Laura's cupcakes

 Grace's cupcakes

Cupcake Girls

He Careth For You

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."

--1 Peter 5:7


It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel--"HE careth for me." Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to Him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to

"Lie passive in God's hands,

And know no will but His."

O child of suffering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. There is One who careth for you. His eye is fixed on you, His heart beats with pity for your woe, and his hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning. He, if thou art one of His family, will bind up thy wounds, and heal thy broken heart. Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! have done with fretful care, and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God.
 
~C.H. Spurgeon