And baby makes 5!

Yeah, you read that right.  In all the insanity that was our Christmas we discovered that we got a Christmas gift from God this year...we're expecting!  I was a bit in disbelief but so excited at the same time!!

The insanity began the week before Christmas.  We didn't have ANY Christmas preparations done this year and we weren't even done shopping for the kids let alone friend and family.  The idea of home made Christmas gifts went out the window and we took a deep breath and started shopping.  By the evening of the 22rd we had finally finished our shopping (thank GOD my husband took the week off!) and the wrap-a-polooza began!  I was EXHAUSTED!  That morning (December 23rd) around 2am Sassy had an accident in her bed.  After cleaning things up my husband went back to bed, but I couldn't sleep.  I had planned to take a test that morning anyway so I decided I might as well just take it.  So at 2:30 am I discovered that we were going to grow our family even more!  

That night I came across this verse:

"Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." 

Psalm 127:3

I don't feel very worthy but the same time so thankful the Lord chose to reward us with the miracle of life.  We are feeling truly blessed and this verse just warms my heart, reminding me how precious this gift truly is.  We are so thankful that God chose to give us this gift!

Favorites Friday: Life Factory Glass Bottles

My favorite for this week that I'd like to share is Life Factory glass bottles.  This is something I don't feel I could really live without.  I Love these bottles.  With so many issues with plastics (BPA, BPS, PVC etc etc) it's difficult to find a non-toxic way to bring filtered water with you when you are on the go.  Stainless steel is an option but I find after a while the water has a metal taste and the containers can rust.  I discovered the Life Factory company about a year ago when I was looking for non-toxic sippy cup options for the kids.  I wish I had found them sooner.  Their baby bottles can convert to a "sippy" cup with a quick change in the top. 

 We now use these every morning to give the kids their juice and supplements.  I found that our homemade juice was sticking to the plastic of the kids sippy cups and would clog up the tops quickly making them unusable.  The glass bottles work perfect and clean well in the dishwasher.  They are also durable.  If my kids haven't broken them, then they HAVE to be tough!

I had purchased one for myself and really liked it but wished the lid had a spout to make drinking a bit easier in the car (which we are in quite a bit).  Then I was at the dentist one day and discovered the 20 oz version of what I had with a spout!  I now use this bottle almost every day.  It's nice to have a brand I know and trust to be safe for my family.  Check them out today! http://www.lifefactory.com/

Our plans for the month of December.

Last year (our first year homeschooling), we attempted to continue school up until the week of Christmas.  This plan quickly became a failure and it just didn't happen.  I soon began to feel like a failure myself and proceeded to beat myself up about it. It soon turned a season of joy into a stressful time of regret.  This year we are trying something different and so far so good. 
I know that December is busy...no...crazy.  Instead of  following a lesson plan like I have been, for the month of December we are focusing the majority of our activities around advent and Christmas.  I am giving the kids a couple of daily worksheets to work on as well as a craft.






The focus this month is Christmas, more specifically, the birth of Jesus.  To keep us on track and REALLY get into learning the meaning of Christmas, we are using The Truth is in the Tinsel.

Some of the ornaments we have made so far

My children LOVE this and to honest, I'm also learning a lot! I love knowing that my children are learning all of this early.  We also created a substitute for our Calender for December.  I had the kids color ornament pictures that have the different names of Jesus.  We are using the pictures to cover up each day that has passed.  The tree is helping to keep track of how many days until Christmas and it teaches the kids the many different names of Jesus.

Our "calender" for the month of December

I sat and came up with a few concepts I wanted to focus on as well such as adding and subtracting, money, counting by 10s, and handwriting skills.  I have a ton of workbooks, so I've been able to use these to reinforce theses concepts.  I also have found so many wonderful resources for Christmas theme printables.

Here are some great places to find Christmas printables:
Living Life Intentionally
Spell Outloud
Bible Story Printables
Jennifer A Janes