A City Life For Me

We didn't do hymns at the beginning of this school year...I was swamped learning to teach Kindergarten to two  kids at once.  That is still a work in process!  We reviewed some hymns which we had already learned last year.   Learning to stand and sing hymns and pay attention always seemed like creating a discipline opportunity.  There was a lot of fighting and not listening.  I thought my kiddos didn't like the singing time.  But two of my kids asked for hymns again in the same week, so we are bringing it back!  We have also been letting one child in each bedroom choose a song to sing before bedtime prayers each night.  I love  that they are asking for songs like "Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty," "I Sing the Mighty Power of God," and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"! This month we are learning Come Ye Thankful People, Come  in preparation for Thanksgiving.  I had a good time visualizing this hymn because fall i...

This year we gave each of the kids a choice of sport.  Even just limiting it to one each is a financial stretch!  Liberty has always been a water baby so it was no surprise that she chose swimming lessons.  She completed an eight week course course starting in February.  She is now quite adventurous without her water wings on and will be swimming completely on her own very soon! Elaine and Nehemiah chose baseball.  Nehemiah has been dying to play baseball for quite a while, and he couldn’t wait to get his T-Ball uniform!  Ben was the assistant coach for his team, the Falcons.  He had very good attention and always wanted to be first on the ball.  He is also a strong hitter, and seemed to stick with the game longer than many of the young kids on his team.  During three weeks of rainout games, Saturdays were miserable around our house because Nehemiah would walk around asking when he could play baseball again. Elaine registered for baseball, bu...

On Monday we checked the first item off our bucket list...Orchard Beach!  We hit 91 degrees that day, and we were tired after having a mission team here for a week.  The kids were thrilled to go to the beach.  The water was pretty chilly, but we arrived at low tide so the tide pools were full of "treasures" to explore.  The tide was coming in as we left, and that's when the trash washes in! Nolan found a shell while we were wading.  He stepped on it under the water, then dove to retrieve it.  It was a small shell with a hermit crab inside!  We added another shell to his bucket that I found, and by the end of our visit we had seen the crab attempt to change shells.  In the end he chose neither shell, and our prodding and watching may have been his demise.  :-( We also rememebered our sunscreen this time (how did I forget last time?!?!) and managed to return home unburned. I'm not a beach person at all - I much prefer mountains!  Re...

We're not really traveling this summer...there are a lot of ministry things going on, and we don't really have the funds for it since we're still finishing the house projects.  And we're visiting a supporting church in OH in October, and we're saving to stop at the Ark on the way home. But I have five energetic kids who no longer have school to occupy their mornings, so I knew we needed a summer plan.  I scoured some websites like Mommy Poppins and other urban bloggers for the best things to do with kids, and I limited it to the free stuff.  Mondays are Ben's "day off", so we alternated those days with outings that require Daddy's help, and with house work projects.  This coming week we are finally getting to replae our garage door!!! Tuesdays are library and reading days.  Maybe I will even get to sneak in a book or two this summer!  The kids were thrilled for summer reading program to start, and we have a great "small town feel" ...

In April we learned "The Bible Stands" as our hymn in morning time.  The kids really got into this one, I think because it is a peppy, upbeat tune.  Though Elaine did say, "Wow, I'm really out of breath after this song!"  I wanted to make it a song that the kids could color in the visuals, but I couldn't find the right pictures for each page.  So some pictures are black and white clipart, and others are full color photos.   Late in the month, our Thursday night Bible study was about the surety of the Bible.  Ben chose this song to sing, and my kids were excited to know the song already! This month we are learning a slower song, "My Jesus, I Love Thee."  It's a nice change after last month!  Again, the pictures are designed to be colored by you or your kiddos.  While one verse focuses on death, the next verse speaks of eternity in heaven praising our Jesus for His love.  This has been a good lesson to teach my kids! ...

Here are a few favorites from recent weeks... ::| HAS Fit on YouTube I've been using this for exercising at home.  I love that there is very little background music, and it's a husband/wife duo that lead the exercises.  Claudia always does an easier version of the particular exercise move, and Coach Kozak does a more challenging move.  This allows me to customize my workout to what I can do!  They have exercises for every level.  There is a monthly schedule that will work through all muscle groups, or you can select individual workout videos.  There is an app now, but I think it's kind of small to watch the videos on my phone.  ::| Skillet Cookie I bought this mini cast iron skillet on Amazon as an add-on item.  Since then we've been enjoying skillet cookie desserts at home!  This recip e comes out just right, and topped with lots of ice cream, it's the perfect dessert!  Each of our kids got to help make and eat one on their stay...

On March 11, 2018 Elaine made a very important step in her spiritual growth.  It was an answer to a prayer I have been praying over the space of a couple of years.  Elaine asked to be baptized.  We had talked through baptism on several occasions, but always felt as if she didn’t understand completely, or as though her motives were wrong.  We didn’t push, but we prayed.  Elaine was in the Sunday morning service when Pastor Bickel announced an upcoming baptism.  She came to me and asked if she could be baptized.  We talked through things again and it was different this time.  Elaine called Pastor Bickel to talk to him.  He sent her a packet of information that she had to read and complete before she could be baptized.  It included a written testimony of salvation, and also several passages to look up and study to be sure that the picture and purpose of baptism was understood. Elaine completed her packet and submitted it to Pastor Bic...

Here are some resources and printables for you as you prepare for Resurrection Sunday! My friend MaryEllen shared 15 verses for the Resurrection, and she includes a free printable hymn art.  I love decorating my house with Scripture, so these kind of printables are right up my alley!  Read the post at Imperfect Homemaker HERE . Available in MaryEllen's store, you can get a beautiful printable set of Resurrection verses to use in family devotions, as well as a printable banner (my newest favorite in home decor  is changing out a banner with the season or holiday!), and three printable hymn arts.  Purchase it HERE . The Isaiah 53 study in the Busy Mama's series is excellent. Study the prophecy of Jesus as the Lamb of God.  You can purchase the PDF or paperback HERE .  You will finish after Easter if you start now, but it is still worth the time and effort! When I was studying Isaiah 53 through Doorposts two years ago, I created this picture ...

We got just enough snow this week for a sledding day.  We have been eyeing a big hill by the reservoir but never had enough snow (or not-too-frigid temps) to give it a try.  The kids did double school lessons on Tuesday in hopes of a snow day on Wednesday.  When we woke up on Wednesday they were dreadfully disappointed that there wasn't a single snowflake on the ground!  However, the snow came that afternoon and we hurried to the sledding hill Thursday morning before it all melted. Elaine Nehemiah Henry did better with Daddy than Mommy The kids spent a lot of time belly sliding down the hill!  This is Nolan... Twins race down the hill.  Liberty won because she chose the sledding path! View of our hill from the bottom Libs

Our year in review, 1 second at a time (as many days as I remembered to do it).  I made this video using the 1SE (1 Second Everyday) app.  It's a fun way to video journal!

Last year I made it a goal to teach my kids a different hymn each month.  We explained the big words, the doctrine from Scripture, and learned all  the verses because they are so rich in theology.  My kids really liked it!  In fact, today I didn't have the new hymn ready for morning pledge time and Nehemiah came to me later very sad because "we didn't sing today." We didn't do well with hymns in the summer...we were too busy renovating a house!  This coming summer we have several mission teams joining us for Bronx ministry, so I am again taking off the summer months (this time by design).  What we have been creating is "morning time" like many homeschoolers do in their learning routine, but I didn't even know there was such a thing!  This year we are going to incorporate Scripture memory into the morning time along with our pledges and hymn and prayer time. Here is my list of hymns for 2018: January: Satisfied February: Blessed Assuran...