THE TREASURE OF BEING A GODLY WOMAN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faKFcfytlxU

Week in Review for October 26 - 31 (Pumpkins)

WEEK 10 in reviewThis week was a challenging week because we had many appointments and we were planning our youngest son's 4th birthday around everything. His birthday is this weekend so among lesson planning, homeschooling and taking family members to appointments.. Mommy had to order the cake and make plans for a Toy Story birthday party theme. I'll post about the birthday next week and share

Ladies Night

Ladies, Be Proud To Be A Woman

Yes Ladies, be proud to be a woman. You are special, you are the heartbeat of your home, the cook the cleaner, the nurse, the accountant and the comforter...    So, ... take delight in all you do.
God created you to be especially who and where you are, appreciate and give thanks for it. Tonight was ladies night at our church. We sang and praised our God...we had jokes and fun but most of all we were encouraged to be free (Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free, John 8:32) and to rise above all adversities rejoicing in Him always....because we are special to God and he loves us!
"Love beareth all things,
          Believeth all things,
                       Hopeth all things,
                                  Endureth all things,
                                             BECAUSE..Love never faileth."
The Bible: 1 Corinthians 13:7-8.

What my child is reading: October 26 - 31

We are participating with Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns weekly meme "What my child is reading." We also have our book posts to Fantastic Find's Bookworm Beginnings, a monthly sharing our favorite children's books. We are enjoying reading what other families are reading! We have added new books to our reading list for the year, after reading some families recommendations.This week we are reading

Open Ended Art: Pumpkins

This week's Open Ended Art theme at Mommies Wise Little Bookworms is Pumpkins. The boys received assorted sizes of pumpkin cutouts made of orange construction paper and a sheet of face parts (eyes, mouth. nose, eyebrows, etc.) I found the printables for it by the blogger who made them HERE. For open ended art, I did not tell them what to do or how to make their paper pumpkins. Here are the

SLEEPILY WATCHING FROM THE SIDE LINES

Magical Moments

What can I say, there are so many magical moments. Moments that drive you crazy at the time and provide a good laugh later. Have just spent time caring for two of my grandchildren on the weekend. So the tittle tattling began, usually from Shiarn.... girls are so much better at dobbing in the boy's aren't they!
"Nanni, Ely is on the roof,"....."Elyshah, get off there at once before you fall!"
"Nanni, Ely is up the Mango tree and mum will get mad 'cause it makes him itchy." 
Again!...Elyshah, get out of that tree. The possum isn't there, he's hiding...and be careful when you get down because Papaw saw a snake near the back fence...Please come inside. And so it continued. Oh, its exhausting and I don't remember how I ever handled four of my own. Yet I had them all bluffed thinking I could see through walls and around corners.
My daughter Daniella is one step ahead of hers now and their antics always give me a hoot to watch. Once a state runner she can still out run her taller seventeen year old son. And look out when she catches him, it's better watching than Telly. Chooks fly out of their way as they run all over the paddock and the other kids stand on the sidelines, yelling them on.  My heart goes out to her yet I remember years ago when she could outrun me. No...I didn't give chase, she'd take off and I waited for her to come home. Then I'd hold and pray over her which seemed to upset more than a good whollop. She was my wild child. Once totally exasperated, I expressed the wish that she had a child just like herself one day. Well, she reminded me not long ago that she has, only her's number four! LOL

Pumpkin Patch Fun

We went to a pumpkin patch earlier this past week. The weather was perfect for it! Everyone had fun looking for their perfect pumpkin!My youngest "Turtle" did not waste anytime showing us his perfect pumpkins! He loves picking mini pumpkins! He could have stayed all afternoon at the pumpkin patch if we had let him. He kept loading the wheel barrow and filling it with pumpkins not realizing that

Kids Explore Nature (Tree Hugging Tots): Pumpkins

This week's Kids Explore Nature (Tree Hugging Tots) is on Pumpkins. That works for us since we are doing a unit study on pumpkins this week! Here are the books we are reading for our Pumpkin theme this week. What fun!We went to a pumpkin patch sometime ago when the weather was perfect. We found there a large wonderful assortment of pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, and squash.Group Preparation:

Fun Sunday

Pictured above Pan de Huevo (Mexican Sweet breads) we love to eat!Today it is just me and the boys spending time together. We dropped off Hubby at class at 8:30 AM and we'll pick him up later at 6 PM.We stopped at at Mom and Pop style bakery and bought Reposteria (Mexican Cookies), Pan de Heuvo (brioche like golden breads covered with powdered sugar toppings) and assorted Mexican pastries. There

What my child is reading: October 19 - 24

We are participating with Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns weekly meme "What my child is reading." We also have our book posts to Fantastic Find's Bookworm Beginnings, a monthly sharing our favorite children's books. We are enjoying reading what other families are reading! We have added new books to our reading list for the year, after reading some families recommendations.This week we are reading

Week in Review for October 19 - 23 (Fall wk 2)

WEEK 9 in reviewThis week we took a step away from most of our work books and spent much time observing nature outdoors. We entered our second week in our Nature Study and it has been rewarding for all.

We learned about tree identification, squirrels and their homes, why leaves change color, how people live in South Africa and grow pumpkins plus we had plenty of fun with Open Ended Art and other

Autumn Leaf Watercolors

Sometime ago we did Crayon Resist Art with watercolors when we covered our StArt project for Brown Bear in September. This time we made some beautiful Autumn leaves on legal size copy paper.
Do make this first I got a legal size paper which I had drawn different leaves in Sharpie marker. The I used another paper to place over it and trace the leaves with white crayon. The trick is to press hard

Nature Study: Tree Leaf Identification

Last week, we started a Nature Study with the boys and they enjoy it. I do tailor the Nature study with each child. My youngest has a short attention span and it helps to make his time a little bit more playful. When we did a Nature Scavenger hunt, I made it fun by taping a piece of sticky tape around his wrist so that as he found items, he could place them on his wrist. At the end of his Nature

OUTBACK OZ (AUSTRALIA) BOYS FROM THE BUSH

AUSTRALIA IS A COUNTRY, ISLAND AND CONTINENT.
SURROUNDED BY WATER MANY LIVE BY THE SEA. INLAND IS CALLED OUTBACK....ITS A TOUGH HARD LIFE AND THIS SONG DEPICTS THE POSITIVE FUN SIDE OF THE OZZIE BLOKE..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5lahfdcqsk

ENJOY.......

Open Ended Art: Black and White

This week's Open Ended Art theme at Mommies Wise LIttle Bookworms is black and white. The boys received a black sheet of construction paper, white tempera paint, a plastic fork and paint brush. I did not tell them what to do. Here are the results below. I observed my youngest "Turtle" try his hand with the fork as you can see in the middle of the paper. He then became frustrated so he turned to

Our Fall Leaf Experiment

We are doing a two week unit study on Fall. We conducted a Fall Leaf Experiment this week. We have done this experiment three years ago and I though we'd do it again this year.The books we read:I am a leaf by Jean MarzolloWhy do Leaves change Color? by Betsy MaestroBackground InformationTrees use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar. This is called photosynthesis. Trees respond

Kids Explore Nature (Tree Hugging Tots): Our Backyard

This week's Kids Explore Nature (Tree Hugging Tots) is on your backyard and Nature Explorers with Blissful Moments is on Squirrels. This week we are continuing to learning about Fall as our unit study. Some of the books we are reading this week are:
A Walk in the Deciduous Forest by Rebecca L. Johnson
Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger
One Child, One Seed: A

I AM NOT A BEER DRINKER....BUT ONE NEEDS A SENSE OF HUMOUR!

A Home Among The Gum Trees

Summer officially hits Australia on the first of December, yet we are already experiencing days of up to 35c or 95f. The weather promises to be hot and dry this season and for some states such as Victoria this reads the 14th year of drought. One has to feel compassion for those residence, who experienced horrific bush fires last year....goodness only knows what this year might bring. My eldest daughter and family are one hours drive south of me and in view of the Pacific Ocean yet also among tall fuel rendering eucalypts. The smell of smoke and sight of fire is never an accustomed desire.
Our precious water is ever restricted, often saved from bath and kitchen to be recycled onto gardens. Duel flush toilets and special nozzles on shower heads save consumption. Our government subsidised water saving washing machines and home water tanks. Yes, most homes possess their own tanks with or without city water as well. When the kookaburra laughs long and hard around noontime, it signals a weather change. Eyes turn skyward to watch for rain clouds... grey (good) or green (oh no, hail!) .... Run and put the vehicles undercover!!!!
You know, I'd never change a thing about my country, I love it just as crazy as it is.........
"So I'll keep my home among the Gum Trees" ................
And we'll go a "Waltzing Matida" and say "It's alright Mate," when the goin' get's tough.

Free Fall Unit Study from Old Schoolhouse

We are fans The Old Schoolhouse and when we heard they that were offering a free unit study from Amanda Bennett that is perfect for Fall, we had to get it. Autumn Treasures is a one-week theme based unit with daily activities, read aloud suggestions, and lapbooking components. Imagine one week of hands-on learning adventures for kids from K – 4th grade!

We downloaded ours today and have most

Book Sharing Monday: One Child One Seed, a South African Counting Book

This week for Book Sharing Monday, we'd like to share with a wonderful counting book that does more than teach counting. The book we are reading this week is called "One child, one seed: a South African counting book" by Kathryn Cave ; photographs by Gisèle Wulfsohn. This South African counting book is illustrated with photographs of the African harvest.Summary: The story is about a young South

We Sang This In Church This Morning

Hope this goes through......
THANK YOU FOR THE CROSS LORD SUNG BY DARLENE AT HILLSONG AUSTRALIA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azYQqzoEjgU

Week in Review for October 12-16 (Fall wk 1)

WEEK 8 in review
This week we began our two week study on Fall. I wanted to devote enough material for this topic and I felt that one week was not enough.

During our week we began a nature study with a nature walk, learned about leaves, read plenty of books on Fall, enjoyed making fall crafts and started our weekly Nature Study.

My son "Turtle" is age 3 and my son "Godzilla Boy" is age 9.

What my child is reading - October 12 to 18, 2009

Who does not love the Autumn season? Cooler temperatures and Fall fun. This week we did a unit study on Fall and read plenty of books!This week we are reading...Here are some of the boys' favorite picks this week Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Buket Erdogan.This book is the seventh book in the series of Mouse’s First books by Lauren Thompson. Each book in this series

Generations: My Mother Emilee (92) with my grand daughter Shiarn (7) and the chook.

Faith Down through the Generations

No matter what happens in life, the Aussie saying is, "It'll be okay Mate!."
My Jesus says, "Come to me all who labour and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
My God is with me, He knew me before I was born. He knitted my inner parts together in my mothers womb. In the shadows etched through the trees by the moon, He is there. In the foaming crashing ocean waves, He is there. And in the sweet blessing of my mothers voices speaking over the phone, He is there. Praise God my heart sings, for Sunday school and learning His word off by heart as a child. For being taught to raise my voice in song and to sing with joy at the top of my voice. "Blessed assurance Jesus is mine, Oh what a foretaste of glory divine." For a Christian heritage passed down through generations of loyal souls. A maternal great great grandfather who was a member of the British and Foreign Bible society, and who translated the Bible into the Welsh language. Lastly, for the book, "Mary Jones and her Bible", which tells this story....I am, forever grateful.

My Son's

BROTHERLY LOVE

My son's from left, Lee-Joel aged 30yrs and Peter aged 41yrs.......Time stands still for no-one.

My daughter Daniella and her 16yr old son Antonio

This is my daughter Daniella aged 39yrs with her eldest son Antonio aged 16yrs. Daniella had 4 children.

My eldest daughter Femia (I have 4 children) with her daughter Kirra and son Joel

This photo was taken on Mothers Day 2009. I think Femia's son Luke took the photo.

In Rememberance....

Most of you my readers and friends know me as a mother to two boys but in truth I am a mother to four children. Today in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, our thoughts are with our two babies in Heaven. One who would have been 11.5 years old and the other 21 months old.I wrote about our personal loss in our family blog Little Sprouts. I feel that it is important to hold in your

StArt: Mouse's First Fall

This is our four week participating in StArt at a Mommy's Adventures. If you are beginning to wonder what StArt is.... well by Michelle's definition it is A Story + Art = A Great stART!This week we read Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson; illustrated by Buket Erdogan. This book is the seventh book in the series of Mouse’s First books by Lauren Thompson. Each book in this series uses a time of

Open Ended Art: Black and Orange

This weeks Open Ended Art theme is black and orange. For open ended art we used Black construction paper and orange tissue paper.The boys received a black sheet of construction paper on contact paper with cutouts and placed pieces of tissue all over it. Here are the results below. Pictured above my youngest son's Open Ended Art project with Black and Orange. Picture above my oldest son's Open

The Joey "Daniella" and Kiwi "Chimene"

Asian Experience

"Mum, I'm going to Bangkok on Sunday, don't forget Elyshah is staying with you while I'm away." WHAT! what did my daughter say? My head is continually in the clouds and my thoughts running away with a kookaburra's laughter somewhere outback in the mango tree. Hang on, has the time come already! "Sorry my darling, I didn't realise, would you like me to come with you? I'll have to ask Dad if he minds." She was a little battler who had survived so much and now it was her turn to take back 'the years that the locusts had eaten.' We soared off into blue skies like two teenagers on adventure. Malaysia then Bangkok through customs and past sureillance camera's. Two wide eyed Emu's from Oz staring in amazement at the statues of 'other gods.' Booked into a hospital for cosmetic surgery to have rhinoplasty to correct damage done by a violent husband we were bedazzled by the pandemonium. I had never seen a busier place. Was this a hospital or a medical warehouse production line? Nurses walked to and fro dressed like models in high heels and mini skirts while countless patients watched. Did they have any brains? None were older than the mid twenties. Thank God I had come to watch over my daughters care. The staff were gracious and caring. Such humble sweet natures, they touched our heart with ever ready smiles and bows of thank you. The street vendors we were warned not to buy from became familar friends as they laughed at our awkward hand signalled requests. Fresh cut pineapple, even more delicious than those picked not far from where we lived. God brought a beautiful New Zealand girl across our path. Alone and unwell, we befriended this special lady at the hospital. Then with health restored the three of us wandered the busy streets and fascinating shops together.
A Kangaroo, her Joey and the Kiwi.........

Kids Explore Nature (Tree hugging Tots): Leaves

This week's, Tree Hugging Tots (Kids Explore Nature), is on leaves. This week we are learning about Fall as our unit study. Some of the books on leaves we are reading this week are:Fall Leaves Fall by Zoe HallI am a Leaf by Jean MarzolloLeaf Jumpers by Carole GerberMouse's first Fall by Lauren ThompsonWhy do Leaves Change color by Betsy MaestroWe went on a Nature Walk on Sunday. It was a cloudy

Our Season Tree for Fall

In early September I posted about how we made our Trash to Treasure Bulletin board for our inside front door. For September it was a green tree with apples now we have changed the tree for the Fall season.

The tree was made from packing material (like paper grocery bags) that we crumbled to give the effect of bark. We used leaf garland and trimmed pieces to tape to our tree. We originally

Kirra and Benj Walking in the Light

GOD'S JEWEL

Speak to God everyday in prayer and he will hear.
You are His precious child and He is ever near
When strife and hurt occurs beyond your cope
Always remember His saving grace and divine hope
He created you in the perfection of His image
He knows your thoughts and deeds yet pays you homage
As a human sometimes weak, doubtful and lacking in courage
He holds you close and guides your feet on slippery ground
Through mire and drudge, His guidance profound
As a good sheppard tenderly watches over His sheep
Loving forgiving then healing and aiding to keep
You placed in His flock, nutured close to His heart
A diamond so rich, that you glisten as part
Of His jewellery on earth, and His Image of Art.....
Especially to my granddaughter Kirra who has kept herself especially for her newly betrothed Benj.... Two of God's Jewels on Earth.

Book Sharing Monday: Where the Wild Things Are

This week we are reading "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. I did not grow up hearing about this book. I learned about the book through my husband who claims this book as his all time favorite book from his childhood. My sons now share a love for this book with their Dad after reading it together. It is definitely a book worth reading with your child.Summary:Max, a little boy gets in

Week in Review for October 5-9 (Farm wk 2)

WEEK 7 in review
This week our homeschool is under construction. You can read about it HERE and see the photos of the flooding our home recieved. Needless to say we still were able to figure out ways to homeschool around the mess and maintenance crews in our home. This week we continued our farm theme with some added books. It has worked out great that we are taking two weeks on each theme

What my child is reading - October 5 to 9, 2009

This is our first week participating with Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns weeky meme "What my child is reading."We have also linked this post to Fantastic Find's Bookworm Beginnings, a monthly sharing our favorite children's books.This week we are reading... Here are some of the boys' favorite picks this weekMrs. Wishy Washy's Farm by Joy Crowley and illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller.We had originally

Fall Background

Don't worry you are still at our blog Monkey See Monkey Do. I love the Fall so I am changing the look of the blog to reflect the Fall season. Then later we have plans to change it to a Holiday look and then in January you will see the Monkeys (not mine) in our blog again.I hope you like the look and big thank you to the cutest blog on the block for their cute banner and background designs.

StArt: The Little Red Hen makes a Pizza

This is our third week participating in StArt at a Mommy's Adventures. If you are begininng to wonder what StArt is.... well by Michelle's definition it is A Story + Art = A Great stART! This week we read "The Little Red Hen makes a Pizza" by Philemon Sturges.This book was all time favorite for us. The story of the Little Red Hen is not a new one, but when the Little Red Hen wants to make a pizza

Our Homechool is under construction

Picture above, our patio area by our living room and bedrooms
Pictured above, our front porch
This past weekend, our area of town got hit with heavy a down pour of rain. Our apartment building sits on the bottom of a hill and the drainage system here needs some work. We have discussed the matter with management to no avail until this weekend when our apartment got flooded. The water seeped into

StArt: Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm

This is our second time participating in StArt at a Mommy's Adventures. If you are begininng to wonder what StArt is.... well by Michelle's definition it is A Story + Art = A Great stART!This weekend we read "Mrs. Wishy Washy's farm" by Joy Crowley and Illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller. We played with the felt farm set I made below. My youngest played with the pieces, sorted his animals and counted

Lance Corporal Arthur William White 1904-1981

My Father Arthur William White

Back between the 1930's and 1960's people accepted their lot in life and got on with making the best of what they had. Excuses weren't made nor complaint's voiced. My father emigrated alone from England when he was twenty. He met my mother who lived at home with her parents in Leeton, and they married. The years were lean and hard yet people were resilient and pulled together. Food was carefully prepared and all was eaten, not wasted or thrown away. Clothes got handed down and reshaped or cut to fit the next wearer. I once had a dress made out of an old curtain. All was mended, cared for and cherished. The Second World War began so my father volunteered and went off to help fight for his country. Mother was left behind as were many others to keep the home and care for the children. She had my three elder brother and sisters. Pop went first to the Middle East and on his return he was sent to the Kakoda Trail in P.N.G. to prevent the Japanese from penetrating Australia. Conditons were harsh with a lack of food, wet cold weather, the enemy and malaria carrying mosquito's. None of this was spoken about on his return home. He passed away in 1981 taking his memories with him. My younger brother Ralph, now retired, set about trekking the Kakoka trail to hopefully experience and understand what our father had been through. This firsthand reality imprinted a different understanding upon my brothers mind. Through my brother, we the rest of my fathers children have come to understand much of our father's personal suffering and torment. I feel so very proud to be his child. Now I see him as an unspoken hero. I love the Ode of Rememberance spoken every day at six in the evening in every Return Soldiers Club in Australia. When the lights are dimmed. The Tapps soulfully play. Then the ODE is recited.
*They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weiry them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.
Lest we forget. *All present repeat... "Lest we forget." (Laurence Bunyon 1914)

Miracles

Believe in Miracles

Do you believe in miracles? I do! I also believe the Angels watch over us, Psalms: 91.
Raymond owns a Harley, Road King Classic, it's his pride and joy. Of course I have my seat on the back yet I am begining to get cautious with age. So when out church organised a road trip involving the bikes I didn't even ask if women could go. Safely I was happy to remain at home and visit a friend. Bikes and Tykes, they lined up eager to go. However, it was explained to the non church attendee's present that a prayer for safety was important prior departure. Ps Keven did the honours with all in agreement before they roared off in a flurry of blue green grey black and yellow. At 1000hrs the phone call came. "Hello," my husbands voice. "Can you come and get me?" "How come," I queried. "Well I had an accident and came off the bike." "So how's the bike," I asked, knowing I'd learn more about the accident by the condition of the Harley. "It's not good," came his low response. "Are you alright?" I asked. "Yes, I'm fine," came the typical male answer.
Later I was to discover my husbands escape from harm was a miracle. On a country road and riding in unfamilar territory at 120kph he lost control of his bike on a bend. It happened at the side of a concrete bridge near a guard rail. Missing these he sailing through the only gap possible to be air born for a couple of metre before the bike fell hitting brush then water . Ray was thrown over the handle bars. Shocked and sorry, he met me as soon as I arrived. Instantly I observed him for an elevated pulse (internal bleeding). He refused Hospital for monitoring after I considered a possible # Sternum so I kept vigil all day. My main concern of ruptured Mesenteric Artery or Spleen later ruled out with no abdo tenderness, tackycardia or hypotension. Praise God, Ray was up early on Sunday morning to take off for a 3 day golf championship. . ... MIRACLES do happen!

Week in Review for Sept. 28 - October 2 (Farm wk 1)

WEEK 6 in review
This week we had lots of fun learning about life on the farm. We are learning about the letter C this week and the boys have working together much better than the previous weeks. No fighting, no arguing, no yelling.. just sharing and waiting your turn... for now... (or until they find some reason for not wanting to share, which they can find eventually).

Turtle's week: We

Our Mrs. Wishy Washy and Farm Animals

Pictured above Mrs. Wishy Washy story characters I madefor our homeschool as we read "Mrs. Wishy Washy" this week!This week we began our farm theme. We are doing book activities from two books: "Mrs. Wishy Washy" and "Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm." Next week we are reading the Little Red Hen. I picked up some other books which you can see on our right side bar which lists what we'll be reading for the