September Already !?!?

Time does seems to be flying by here at our humble abode. August saw many busy weeks for us. We had VBS in August this year. It was awesome! DD BabyGirl turned 16! I don't know where the years are going. I turned 35. I have earned every wrinkle and silver hair. I'm proud of them. I had to go to the Dr. to discuss possible surgery for my bladder and to have several tests done. Instead of surgery I will be having meds and PT. This is day two of the medication and it has done some great things for me. Had I known years ago that it would help this much I would have taken it sooner. We are preparing for school to begin week after next. DS Tman will be returning to the Christian school at our church this year.He wants to have some interaction with his friends this year so we are going to give it a shot. I help out several times throughout the year and they allow our kids to attend the conventions with them . We have decided to go with all PACES because frankly, I feel like having a "lazy" year. BabyGirl will graduate in Spring of 2010 and we have a lot to plan for that so we want to take it easy on the lesson planning. I'm sure we will do some mini units and lapbooks together but our mainstay will be PACES.
Today is my Big Brothers birthday so "Happy Birthday Brotherman!" I love Ya! We have spent the day finishing up our Fair projects. I still have some things to do but I will finish them up later tonight. The county Fair starts on Monday. The kids enjoy the rides and Toodles and I enjoy looking at the exhibits.
We have also been doing the Fall cleaning around the "homestead ". I will post more about that on my Homestead  blog. You can come on over and check it out if you like. There are some amazing recipes and stuff on all the blogs over there. Just click on the "Dreamin' of the Farm" pic on the right sidebar and visit my blog. Then you can check out the other blogs by either clicking on the Front Porch link or using the Random Blog link. Well Tman is making some homemade chili for supper tonight, Momma taught him:) so I'm going to post on my other blog and then check out what is going on in the kitchen.Have a great weekend! Blessings ! ~ Nikki

Free Lesson Plan and Grade Keeper Book and Calenders

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that I have uploaded some new stuff at HS Launch. You can check it out through the widget on the right sidebar. I created a F.R.O.G. Folder lesson planner with some other neat pages in it. There is a page to keep up with appointments , a menu planner , a chore planner and a grade keeping page. On the grade keeping page I created it so that  I can keep grades for each week using a four block system. There is a block for the pretest grade, one for the test grade, one for a project grade if we have one and one for any extra credit assignments. You may not be able to use it but if you can then enjoy! I also created some frog calenders for August 2009 til July 2010. you can download them from HS Launch too. Come by and let me know what you think about the new stuff and if it was helpful to you. Also I wanted to share this new site I found . I wasn't able to fix the pdf so that you could type in it and then print it out because I am using the free version of Primo pdf to create my stuff. But I did find a place, PDFFiller.com, where you can upload my pdf and it creates an image of it that you can type on and then you can print it out. Hope that helps! :) Have a blessed day ! ~ Nikki

Pictures

Ok here are the pics I promised!

First ~ casting Crowns with John Waller


July 4th

Lake Erie PA

Bridge in Pittsburg.

Where Did A Month Go?

Ok, no way did I anticipate that I would be so busy this summer. It seems like we have been on a constant go go go. Well at least this is turning out to be a cool summer. I can't believe the weather we have been having. I guess I will update and let everyone know what we have been up to . That is if anyone is still reading my blog ...are you? Are you there? Hellooooooooooooooo?  Well anyway , here is the story... (imagine a movie narrator's voice..)
When last our blog writer left us she had intended to keep up with her blog posting but time seemed to slip away much faster than she anticipated. One week was spent in Bible study with her youth group in order to prepare their hearts for worship at the Casting Crowns concert. Truly it was an amazing week...watching God speak to the hearts of the youth (and adults too) was awesome. The concert was awesome too. The crowd was pleasantly surprised when special guest John Waller took the stage (ok our blog writer was extremely happy ...she loves his music). Mark Hall and the Crowns are some of the most humble people on the planet and they have such amazing talent. It was more than a concert it was a worship service. (pictures to come later).
Next for our blog writer came the July 4th holiday. A wondeful time spent with family and eating all that awesome July 4th food fare. A pleasnat evening was had by all as fireworks exploded in the night sky creating vibrant splashes of color against the inky blackness. (pictures to come later)
Then came the birth of our blog writers BFF's  lovely (much anticipated and teeny tiny) preemie baby girl. Both Momma and Baby are home and doing fine. Visit Shirley at MyThr33Sons and check out the story (with cute baby pics).
Later , our blog writer and family got to travel to Chattanooga and celebrate the 70th birthday of her lovely MIL.
Next for our blog writer and her handsome hubby came an unexpected oppurtunity to travel. They enjoyed a lovely trip through Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Virginia. Their favorite part was having some playtime at Lake Erie. Lovely cannot describe it. Pictures will definetly be posted later!
And last but not least our blog writer has been preparing for her and her DH 10th wedding anniversary tomorrow. They will be renewing their vows amongst a gathering of family and friends.Stay tuned for the next installment...
OK, was that funny? Did it make it more interesting? Did you smile? At least a little bit? Let me know if you are still here ... leave me a comment... go ahead ...I'm begging...I'm making puppy dog eyes at you right now...Blessings~ Nikki

Its Back...Website of the Week ~ 6-22-2009

Ok here it is ...Summer! Can you believe it? To celebrate this season and all its bounty , like our summer gardens, I have decided to highlight :

Homestead Blogger

Check out all the great blogs over there(including mine although I wouldn't say mine is great). There are tons of great recipes, gardening tips and home canning ideas on the blogs over there. Go check it out... now...really...GO NOW!

Check out the last 100 entries page or use the random blog feature.
Blessings! ~ Nikki

Hey All!

It has been a while since I posted. I would like to say thanks to all who were praying for my requests.There has been a lot of improvement for all. We enjoyed our camping trip. We had almost 40 ... count 'em ... 40 black bear sightings. One Momma bear had four cubs with her which is unusual for our area. Of course this year we are having an increased black bear population. I have lived here all my life and have only seen about 10 to 12 black bear in Cades Cove , so seeing this many this year was very exciting. So if you want to  see black bear and you are near the GSMNP then you should check out Cades Cove.
Tonight we had a tornado warning issued for our area. We were watching some rotating clouds over our house . It was such a weird sight. The storms passed us over though and for that I am thankful. The garden is growing and I have been harvesting some cucumbers and grape tomatoes. Pickle time!! I will be posting about my garden and canning exploits on my Homestead blog. There is a link on my right side bar. Its called "Dreamin' of the Farm"
I have a family of bluebirds hanging around my yard but can't find where they have nested. Not that I am complaining. I love bluebirds. We have a lot of young wildlife in our yard this year. We have several baby rabbits and squirrels.
I am trying to get some school plans going but for some reason I just can't seem to concentrate on them. We found some great deals at the annual library book sale this year. I purchased the Hooked on Phonics program for $ 1 . Yep ! $1. The only thing wrong with it is that tape number 6 is missing but I hope that I can find a copy somewhere. I'm going to have my youngest use it for review this summer as she still has some reading struggles. My youngest son struggled with reading too and he hated to even try to read. PTL  though now he loves to read. It just took some time for him to find his rhythm. So if you have a child who struggles with reading, don't give up hope. It will come. Sometimes it just takes time. Well I am going to post on my Homestead blog. I hope to be back on schedule with my regular posts. Blessings! ~ Nikki
Here is a photo I took on landscape setting of a storm coming in over the Cove.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for my cousin Stephi's Daddy, Tommy. He is in the hospital and not looking too good right now. Also pray for our Deacon Randy. He is in the hospital with heart trouble also. Thanks ~ Blessings~ Nikki