Whispering

The whispering has begun. The boys are busy telling Pop what they want for Christmas. They know that Santa isn't real but, to them, Pop is even better.

Couch wrestling

The kids enjoy taking the cushions off the couch and tumbling down, down, down....often times on top of each other. It was fun to take these pictures.

Freaky Friday

Thanks, Picnik (& Melissa)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm at my mother's house enjoying some good 'ole family time. This year, I'm especially thankful for my 90 year old grandmother whose birthday we celebrate today with a luncheon seating 43 family members! God is good. We have much to be thankful for.

Art Projects

I love the site, Art Projects for Kids. I get much of my inspiration for teaching my art class directly from this blog. There, Kathy presents easy to understand instructions for each project and she even categorizes them into age groups so you can quickly find what you might be looking for.

I wanted to show off some of my students' art work that was inspired by the Art Projects for Kids blog site. I also wanted to encourage Kathy and let her know that I'm a faithful follower of her postings and look forward to the new projects she puts on the table. Thanks, Kathy!

The first picture of each project is from APFK and the bottom picture is from my classroom. Please excuse the poor quality of my pictures. The students' work is already secured in a plastic sleeve in their portfolio so I couldn't get rid of the darkness and glare.

You got one, too?

I still think this is funny....no matter how many times I read it.

Dear Mrs. McGinnis

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may be forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. McGinnis are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

2. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, "Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away."

3. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

4. September 14: Moved a "CAUTION - WET FLOOR" sign to a carpeted area.

5. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

6. September 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

7. October 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

8. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

9. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.

10. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled "PICK ME! PICK ME!"

11. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed "OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!"

And last, but not least

15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!"

Chapman family shares BIG news

Homeschool Song (this one is different)

I love you Crissy, Amanda, Laura, Angela, Leslie, Jenny, and all my other homeschoolin' friends!



I'm glad you can take a joke.

Free Chapstick

Click here to receive free chapstock from Lipstock Co. Yes, I meant to type chapstock.

Wordless Wednesday

Snowflake muffins

I love the dollar spot at Target. That's where I picked up this fun snowflake flexible mold. This is as close to snow as we'll ever see here in west Georgia, so we like to pretend as much as we can. Har. Har.

Luke showed off his eating skills.

Gross!

New RedBox Code

You can try this code this week at your local redbox machine.

DVDTHX4

Also, if the above code doesn't work, try any of these:

FUJI26
BREAKROOM
DVDONME
MEMORIAL
MILLER

My local RedBox(es) are located at WalMart on Whittelsey and Airport.

Kreativ Award

I love to blog, but not as much as I love to spend time with my sweet children teaching and making something with our hands. I am a firm believer in allowing my kids to get messy, cut paper, scribble, glue, and pour so that they can simply enjoy being a kid. Luke is not quite three and he is a master at cutting paper with scissors...well, not necessarily at cutting straight lines but he can hold them correctly to cut. Andrew has been designing his own drawings to color for a good six months now. Abigail is already choosing crayons and markers from the art box to scribble onto her paper.

So, you can imagine my excitement when my friend, Becky, bestowed upon me the "Kreativ Blogger Award". I feel honored! Thanks for thinking of me, Beck! I love you, too. You know, Becky is creative, too. See? More! Proof!

The rules:
I must tell you six random things about myself and then tag/award four other bloggers whom I think qualify as “kreativ”.

1. I've laid eyes on the crime scene where OJ killed Nicole. Yeah, right....we all know he didn't do it. Whatever.

2. I didn't see any of the Star Wars movies until after I was married (I got married in 1999).

3. I worked at Chick-Fil-A through my four college years and earned their employee scholarship. It paid for a whopping one semester.

4. I clogged competitively from about grade 5 to grade 8. I won second place (in my age group) in Freestyle at Dollywood. It's kind of like RiverDance but without the high kicks - think country!



5. If I ever returned to work, my dream job would be to become certified as a sign-language interpreter.

6. My feet fall asleep when I'm laid back in the chair at the dentist's office.

Ok, now that you're completely up to date with six new facts about Jawan, here's who I tag (no pressure to do this):

Coralie
Tera
LR
T. Lyn

More Giveaways

You can click here to find a new listing of a BUNCH of fun giveaways!

Happy commenting!

Unseen pictures

Mitch downloaded a few pictures from his phone to my computer this afternoon. I'm so glad he did because I had never seen these pictures before today. This post was "written" especially with the grandparents in mind.

Free Glowstick

Click here to receive a free glow stick. My children love these things. Just last night, we had a bonfire outside in a friend's yard to roast marshmallows and make S'mores. There were about eight children running around but they were easily spotted since we made them wear their glow sticks!

Thanks to Christi for telling me about this fun offer!

$20 admission to MOMS (+4 kids) at GA Aquarium

Are you a mom with little ones under the age of five? Do you want to visit the Georgia Aquarium but can't seem to find the money to pay for yourself, all the kiddos, and parking? The GA Aquarium has released a new deal to all moms with kids under the age of five. For a total of $20, you get one free adult admission (Mom!) and up to four free children admissions (under the age of five). This offer is valid only Monday through Friday, now until Dec. 31, and tickets can only be purchased online.

Click here for the proof (and to purchase your ticket!). Thanks to Jennifer for sharing this information with me.

Advent calendar

Remember when I posted of how we used our advent calendar with our children last year? It's time to get prepared and gather the necessary materials. I'll be using my Starbucks advent tree o' drawers.

Valley of Vision, "The Dark Guest"

Thanks, Challies.
__________________________________

O Lord,

Bend my hands and cut them off, for I have often struck thee with a wayward will, when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.

I am not yet weaned from all created glory, honour, wisdom, and esteem of others, for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.

Let me not only speak the word sin, but see the thing itself.

Give me to view a discovered sinfulness, to know that though my sins are crucified they are never wholly mortified.

Hatred, malice, ill-will,vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after man’s approval and applause, all are crucified, forgiven, but they rise again in my sinful heart.

O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!

Destroy, O God, the dark guest within whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.

Yet thou hast not left me here without grace; The cross still stands and meets my needs in the deepest straits of the soul.

I thank thee that my remembrance of it is like David’s sight of Goliath’s sword which preached forth thy deliverance.

The memory of my great sins, my many temptations, my falls, bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of thy great help, of thy support from heaven, of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.

There is no treasure so wonderful as that continuous experience of thy grace toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within:

Give me more of it.

New blogs (addictive!)

These blogs were brought to my attention today and I am now addicted. Enjoy the weirdness, amazement, and wonder. Be surprised - these are no where near being craft related.

1. The Big Picture

2. Cool Things in Random Places

3. One Sentence

Free templates

If you want a free new look for your blog, you can click here to see some cute ones that are available to download for both Blogger and WordPress (.org) account.

Oh, yeah, click here for another site with some really cute blog templates. WOW!

Pride

I hope I didn't come across as prideful in my previous Twitter post. Pride-oh, how I hate thee. Please forgive me for typing before thinking.

I do agree that making small talk can be a great way to start a conversation, especially with someone who doesn't know Christ, but I truly feel we should engage ourselves in deeper conversations. I realize that time doesn't always permit but do you really care to know how someone is doing when you ask them, "How are you?".

God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6

A vintage craft cloth

Remember when I told you I won this? The boys tore into the box when we saw it on our front door step (at 7 pm tonight!). It not only contained the much-anticipated craft cloth, it also had crayons and coloring books - all brand new. The boys were so cute sitting together to color before bedtime tonight. I love this protective table cover. Thanks to Does Mommy Love It? for giving this cloth to me.

Season over

Soccer season is over for Andrew. He's been playing street hockey for a year now, but only for the home TEAM McGINNIS, which holds practice on an "as-need" basis in front of our house, when the coach is in the mood (me!). Andrew would love to play hockey for the local YMCA so we'll see if Daddy agrees that it's next on the list. If not, definitely basketball and baseball (not at the same time, though...whew!).

First batch of magnets

Ok, I've finished my first ever batch of fridge magnets. These will be Christmas gifts to friends....sorry, friends, for this sneak peek! I just couldn't resist. I posted the tutorial to these a few weeks ago. They are not hard to make at all! These are NOT the best pictures, but they will do for now. I plan on trying to sell some of these magnets online so I'll take better pictures of them later for posting to sell (outside, without the flash).

Sculpey

Another cold afternoon arrived this week, causing us to stay indoors after naptime. I pulled out the first craft item I spotted in the closet...sculpey! Andrew decided he wanted my help in making an orange cat.

I helped him form the facial features but he shaped and attached the body, head, ears, tail, and legs all by himself! After baking it, he painted it orange and then added more color on top of more color.



Luke kept it simple and made a bird's nest full of eggs.


He was adamant about using blue and grey. I don't know why he chose those colors, but they worked!