Summer Reading

A glimpse into what I've been reading this summer... which definitely ranks high on one of my favorite past times.

I have been intrigued by Michael J. Fox for a long time, and think his positive attitude while living with Parkinson's Disease can be an encouragement to many. I found this book on clearance in the Grocery and it was well worth the read! 

This book is the sequel to Lost and Found by Sheehan, and it was just as good as the the prequel. These books have great dialogue, character development, and are awesome for animal lovers! :) 

I downloaded this for free on to my Kindle and I'm so glad I did. This book will challenge your faith, your thoughts about what you think you NEED, and make you incredibly grateful!

This was another free download on Amazon, and it was super cute! It made me realize that life with three children who are close together in age is always going to be an adventure and that adventure is when real learning occurs. This was an easy, but fun read!

This book was extremely interesting as it gives a lot of background information on one of my favorite authors. Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel was a life changing read for me, and this autobiography gave even more meaning to that book. 

If you have any suggestions on books that you love, that you think I might like, leave them in the comments! I'm always looking for a new and interesting read! 

Mr. Popper's Penguins!

Since Levi was 9 months old, he's been fascinated by penguins. His fascination began with a trip to the Tennessee Aquarium, where he picked out a penguin stuffed animal to take home and become his own. He still has this stuffed animal, despite an angry woman's attempt to steal it in Target (don't even get me started), and his love for penguins has continued to blossom. His penguin collection has grown ten fold, his knowledge of penguins is quite astounding, and he has already declared that someday he will move to Antarctica and live with the penguins.

I believe that in Levi's most wonderful dreams, he finds himself living in a penguin colony, swimming, diving, jumping, and enjoying the company of the other penguins. While other children ask their parents for puppies... mine asks if he can keep a penguin in his bathtub.

Because of this, there are many times that I feel as if my son is really Mr. Popper from Mr. Popper's Penguins. As I begin to explore the idea of cultivating a culture of learning in my home, that draws us closer together, and instills a love of literature in our children... I have decided to begin reading longer chapter books aloud to all three of our kids. Although we read shorter story books before bed at night, this will take place during the day, and will focus on listening and comprehension.

After some thought... I realized the natural chapter book to begin reading with the kids was Mr. Popper's Penguins because it has short enough chapters, very descriptive language, and it would appeal to all three of the kids. I ordered a used copy of the book off Amazon this week and we've started our daily reading sessions and so far the kids LOVE it. It will be tough to follow up Mr. Popper's Penguins but I know we will find something the kids will love. If anyone has any suggestions for great read alouds feel free to post a comment!

Happy Fathers Day to my Husband!

When Derrick and I were married in July of 2005, I did not know what our future held, but I trusted that God knew and that was enough. Even in my wildest dreams, I did not dream that almost 7 years later we would have three amazing children that God had blessed us with. Despite that fact, part of the reason I married him was that I knew he would make an amazing father.

He had more patience than any one I knew... enough patience in fact, that he was able to teach me to drive a 5 speed. Patience that lasted through my stall outs, my burn outs, and my whining and complaining. You see... I'm a perfectionist and I hate not being good at something... and it showed! Derrick successfully taught me to drive a 5 speed in two days, and we laughed, we cried, and he never lost his patience. It was then I knew that he was the man God had planned for me, and I knew that I had so much to learn from him.

Fast forward 7 years to June 2012, and he is still the kindest and most patient man I know. These qualities make him an amazing father to our three beautiful children... along with his calm spirit, his sense of humor, and his desire for our children to learn from every day circumstances. I thank God for blessing me with such an amazing husband, who is a fantastic father to our kids. Happy Fathers Day, Derrick Hogan! I love you!

 On our wedding day in July 2005

 Walking at the park on Fathers Day Weekend!

Awesome Daddy!

 Three amazing kiddos!

Overlook Adventures!

Chalkboard Table

I am always on the lookout for items that I can transform or re- purpose into something different or something better. Sometimes it just so happens that those items are located in my very own home. A couple years ago, we bought a small black kid's size table at a garage sale. This table has been used in a variety of ways, but recently it needed to find a new home and a new purpose. 


After a little bit of thought, I decided that I would turn the table into a chalkboard table for the kids to draw and practice their writing. I knew I had a can of spray chalkboard paint and so I spray painted the entire table in chalkboard paint and now the kids can draw and write all they want on it. I've placed the table in my kitchen, underneath our magnetic board (that I also spraypainted), and the kids are definitely enjoying it!! In my mind it was a great use of a $5.00 table, a $4.00 can of spray-paint, and some chalk! 

The before pic of the table

                                                   The after pic of the table- chalk and all!

Money Sense!

We are in the process of trying to teach Hosea about money, tithing, saving and how to sensibly spend the money you make. He is getting better at cleaning, and he is beginning to understand that we need to do things to the best of our ability. Last Friday, he helped me with some extra cleaning items (above and beyond his normal duties) and he did a great job... and he actually received some compensation for his hard work. After he received his compensation we did a review about tithing and saving... and then he asked me where he should keep his money he had earned.

He had been given a race car bank for Christmas and we'd been waiting to paint it... so this week he painted his bank so he would have a place to keep his money. He is actually really excited to SAVE his money and not spend it on something small like ice cream, candy, or a match box car... and get to eventually buy something else after he has practiced saving. Here's his finished bank that he was super proud of completing!

Finished Back splash!

As promised... here are some quick pictures of the finished back splash behind our stove with the kid's hand print tiles... I think it turned out really cute, and we are actually going to add another row! Derrick actually attached them with permanent, double-sided tape... because we wanted to be able to eventually take them down if we end up moving! Enjoy!

Our summer with less TV...

When this summer began, and I realized I would be starting a new phase of my life as a Stay at Home Mom until I started teaching in the fall... I decided to set a couple of goals for myself. Because this new phase was slightly overwhelming to me at the beginning, I needed the goals to help me adjust at the beginning. I didn't make lofty, life-changing, world- changing goals... I made goals that would hopefully better myself and better my family. 


One of the goals I decided to set for myself and for my kids was to decrease the amount of television they watched each day. Now, my kids have never been TV junkies... and I don't typically use the television as an electronic baby sitter... but I knew with a longer summer ahead of me, the temptation would be to use it more than they needed. My summer time rule was going to be a half hour of educational television in the morning, and a half hour of educational television in the afternoon. Hopefully strategically planned... so that I could shower in the morning, and cook dinner in the evening. 


Now... I don't think there is anything morally wrong with watching educational television. My kids have learned some amazing vocabulary words such as "Metamorphosis" from watching Elmo, and they have learned several biblical values and concepts by watching Life at the Pond, a radio show turned television show. I just wanted to ensure that I didn't slip into the trap of letting them watch too much.

We are a full two weeks into the summer and I've learned a couple of things since limiting their television watching...

1. My kids LOVE playing together!

2. My kids will choose to play with one another over watching the TV.

3. My kids now cherish the TV time they do get... and don't take it for granted.

4. My kids argue less when the TV is turned off.

And Last but not least...
5. My kids have AMAZING imaginations... and they will actively use them much more when the TV is turned off.

The last thing I learned was this... it's OK for them to watch 45 minutes one morning if I really need them to... like when I'm having to make important phone calls. Goals are just that... goals... they don't have to apply to every day... and if they watch 45 minutes of TV one morning... I am not a failure. And that is a good thing to remember!