Don't Stop . . . Keep Going.

 Years ago we lived in a very rural Montana town. It was an experience unlike any other. There were good days & bad. While living there someone sent me a like to talk by one of the leaders in our church.  

It was an inspiring message with the words "Don't Stop" and "Keep Going." 

  I remember sitting in our small, brown office in front of my computer and bawling as I was listening to these words. I listened to it many times in that small Montana town & many times since moving back closer to what I know as "home."

 "Don't Stop. Keep Going!" are words I think every mother needs to hear. We all have those moments, moments where we don't think what we are doing is actually doing any good.

This month has been a long one for me. And though today is a day for celebration, and celebrate we will. I am inwardly rejoicing this month is over. I have been too many days without my hubby home. He is my rock & without him, I always feel slightly lost. 

I have been tired.

I am been confused.

And I have had those days I have no idea what is tomorrows is going to bring. 

But as mom we all have those days. 

The days were kids are sick or hurt. Crying or whining. Where the sound mom no longer brings happiness to our ears but a slight cringe because your not quite sure how much more can do. You don't know how much more you can give.

The days you feel as if you are trying to climb the impossible mountain, with no end in sight. 

Days you feel like you have been pushed down, & your just not feeling that optimistic. 

You know those days. 

Or maybe you don't.

Mostly likely you do, you just don't want anyone else to know.

And it in those moments, those words I heard so long ago, begin to ring in my ear:

 "Don't stop, Keep going."

It's those words I want to share with every mother, if I could. 

"Don't Stop . . . Keep Going"  You are doing so many wonderful things. 

Because in the end, You realize you can pick yourself back & take a break from the world.

Get a push start or two.

And just keep your head above water.

Because in time things will be easier.

 Days will get better. 

And soon you will find your heart swollen with gratitude at the blessings you are able to call your own. 

How lucky  you are that you are blessed to spend your days inspiring & teaching. 

And though the days may be long, you may be tired on the never ending trail.

Just  " Don't Stop. Keep Going."

Because the view at the top of the long trail is absolutely breathtaking.
 

So Don't Stop. Keep Going.

 You are closer than you realize, and doing more good than you could ever know.

Homemade Granola

We don't eat a lot of cold cereal at the house. I think it overly priced & there is no nutritional value in it. Besides if I do buy it on a rare occasion that is all my kids want to eat. Breakfast, lunch & dinner. So to make me life simpler, I just don't buy it. However, we love homemade granola. I make it occasionally & it is a favorite snack for everybody. It is simple to make. I usually double the recipe if I have enough nuts on hand.

Homemade Granola

6 cups Oatmeal
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1 c.  Coconut
1/4 c. Sunflower seeds
1 c. Chopped Nuts (we usually do almonds, but whatever nut your family enjoys).

Stir this together & place either on a cookie sheet or cake pan and Bake at 350  for 10 Minutes
just to start to warm everything through.

Add:
  1/2 c. Oil
   1/2  c. honey (We like it a little sweeter & add 3/4 c.)
  1 tsp. Vanilla.

 Mix all of these together & then once your oats are warm, drizzle over the top of the pan & mix through.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Stirring every 10.

At the last 5 minutes add Craisins, or dried fruit if desired.

Let sit & cool. The longer you let it sit & cool before breaking it up the bigger chunks you will have. If you don't want large chunks, mix sooner.

Enjoy.
 

"The Kreu Quilt"

I had been working on a project for quite some time & today  I am excited to show you the 1st of hopefully many to come. So here it is "The Kreu Quilt." A Country Road original quilt.

"The Kreu Quilt"

 This quilt is a quick crib/toddler size quilt & goes to together fairly quickly with the help of chain piecing. The Monogram, is appliqued on & can be change to fit whatever letter you need.

   The back is a solid piece of brown with continuing arrows from the front  cutting in around a 1/3 of the way through. This makes it cute from not only the front, but also the  back.

       The pattern will be shared soon, so check back for it or e-mail me if interested. Anyways I am so excited about this one. It has been my first quilt that I took from my mind to finished project, and I hope you enjoy it!  Here are a few more pictures:

Lessons & Learning About Airplanes

We recently returned from a 3 day field trip to visit my sister & to see some of the local attractions.  This is a trip that by boys look forward to all year long. We usually try to go once a year specifically to visit her. The boys usually make a list before we go of where they want to go. The Air Force Museum is always on the list.

We start by getting our group shot in the beginning  Then as much as I try to stop them; my kids  begin span out. We walk around, with our heads looking up in awe staring at the massive planes. 

They have so many planes, from replicas of the Wright Brothers to modern inventions. There is information about each plane so you can read all you want. While we were there, we were able to see part of a retirement ceremony for one of the Air Force Officers. It was wonderful to see the men & women that sacrifice for this country.

Our favorite Aunt Heather.

They have an education center, that is all hands on activities that help teach you about airplanes & aeronautics. On this particular day it was closed, but it has some fantastic things. 

Once you get through the inside. We tour around the outside. They have a huge area that has old parked planes. The boys think it is awesome to get close to them & then compare the size. 

We are tiny compared to these planes.  It is fascinating. 

Other planes are a little more "their size." I do recall hearing one of my boys say they thought they could fly this one. 

We made it through the whole museum in a couple of hours. You could take all day there studying  the planes & reading all the information. There is detailed information about every plane by it. They also have various movies playing & retired Air Force Veterans that could talk for hours telling you all thing you never knew. However, this time we went through it a little faster due that this was towards the end of the day & my boys were starting to get tired. 

And though we didn't do this before the trip, here are some additional resources that you could use to study more about airplanes & the air force.

The One Paper Airplane Every Child Should Know { The Crafting Chicks }

Cardboard Airplane {This Mumma's Life}

Airplanes Lessons Plans for K-12  {National Museum of United States Air force}

Paper Airplane Experiments { Learn, Play, Imagine }

Lessons on Flight  {Brian Pop}

Practicing Addition & Subtraction with Airplanes & Travelers  {Kids Activities Blog}

Color By Number Airplane Worksheet Activity { Mama's Learning Corner}



And a few Books for Reading As Well:

         

Checking In

It has been a long time since I have posted on here. When I finally checked the date on my blog since the last post I realize that it has been close to a month. I never intended it to be that long, I really didn't, bu September just flew by.


  I am sure later there will be a series of blog posts to show what we have been up to.

  We have celebrated birthdays,

 taken our first group of lambs off summer range,

 We have gotten into school a little heavier.  I hate to say we have had our 1st day of school, because we learn year round. I will say that  we have started adding more subjects into our daily study.

 We have been on field trips & traveled.

 We have been canning, then cleaning, & canning more.

 We are cleaning again.

 There are mountains of laundry we are trying to attack.

  We are sewing quilts & bean bags.

 We are working on patterns & a tutorials.

 We are picking up old hobbies & discovering new ones.

 I am trying to stay off electronics a little more.

 There has been more trying to be present with my children & less distracted.

 More snuggles & book reading.

 We are like so many of you, trying to do our best each day & hope it is good enough.

 So please excuse my absence. Life has just flown by. I will try to be on here more consistent.

 I will be traveling again next week as we will begin to ship our final lambs & sheep off their summer range. It will be a long week or so, & hopefully it we don't freeze to death, but I am sure it will be good memories in the making.

 So keep checking back here, and I will keep trying to check in. But know we are doing the best we can, just like you.

"Teaching Your Child to Read" Guest Blogger Series: Misty

   I am so excited to be getting things back up & rolling on the blog today.  I have loved this series. I have been trying things out & adding things in that I read on the blog & they are working. Really working. Progress is still slow, but we are making progress. It makes me so happy!!! Today we have Misty with us. She blogs over at Mimi's House.

Learning to Read!

Hi! I’m Misty and I blog about our homeschooling journey at Mimi’s House. I was excited about the opportunity to do this guest post for Tiffany!

Learning to read is a huge deal in our home! It was actually one of the stipulations in my husband allowing me to homeschool our kids.  I taught my oldest child to read at 5 years old. She was in preschool at the time and I was teaching her each morning for a few minutes before she went to school. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and we ended up pulling her out of school over Christmas break. I had done what my husband deemed impossible! My middle child began reading at 4 and by her Kindergarten year she was reading chapter books.

When I made the decision to teach my oldest to read I knew right away what program I would use, Hooked on Phonics! I had been a fan of the program since Junior High School. It was what the reading lab at our school used to teach the struggling readers. I worked in the lab during study hall each week and was amazed at how easy it was to use.

Hooked on Phonics uses the phonics approach to learning to read, for example lesson 1 is –at words. So, the child will learn to read the words cat, hat, sat, mat. Every few lessons the child is also introduced to sight words.

It is a simple program, and each week has a story to for the child to read. After a few lessons the child receives a book! This was a huge hit in our home because they could take the book and show their friends, their dad, or their grandparents that they could read a “real” book! We have used the Kindergarten and 1st grade sets.

While I do love Hooked on Phonics for teaching reading, I also believe there are many other things to do to encourage your children to read! Here are a few that we have done in our home:

1. We take our kids to the library on a regular basis! Our kids know getting a library card is a big deal and they get one as soon as they start Hooked on Phonics. We also take them to Tail Wagging Tutors for extra reading practice and rewards. This is a therapy dog program that encourages kids to read. They give certificates, pencils, stickers, and other rewards when a child reads a book to the therapy dog.
2. We use book adventure for rewards and to gauge reading comprehension. This is a program similar to accelerated reader in public schools. We make our own rewards and the girls really like being able to redeem their points.
3. Book it! This is a great program that Pizza Hut offers. After a child reads 10 books in a month they get a free pizza. We don’t do this anymore due to my daughter’s food allergy, but it is a great program!
4. Certificates and days without chores are incentives the girls got when they finished a level of Hooked on Phonics. Each grade has 2 levels, so they got this 4 times while they were learning to read. They thought it was awesome to get a whole day without chores!
   
   
   
   
   
   These are just a few ideas to keep in mind when you begin teaching your child to read. The best piece of advice I have to moms just starting out is to relax! Make learning to read a fun thing!
   There was a few times with my oldest that we would have to slow down and review a lesson or two. I would get so frustrated which just discouraged her. I realized though that once I relaxed and didn’t push her, it came SO much easier. She is now an avid reader and has always read way beyond her grade level.
   Another piece of advice is to not discourage your child when they show an interest in learning. When my youngest daughter wanted to start learning to read at 4 I discouraged her by telling her she wasn’t ready. After arguing with her for a few months I let her start. She picked it up like it was the easiest thing in the world! She had finished level K by the end of preschool, and level 1 a month after starting her K year.
   Moms never let anyone tell you that you cannot teach your child to read, believe in yourself, and in your child! Teaching my children to read is one of the best experiences I have ever had. There is something magical about seeing their eyes light up when they realize they CAN read! It is priceless, and one of the most rewarding things I have ever done!

Adding it all up. Day 3 of The How do I teach Series.

I realize that you are awaiting for my great ideas for math curriculum, as part of our five day series.




I do have some great links & ideas I wanted to share with you.

Then life happened.

As it does most days.

It is hard being a wife, a mother, a daughter, a neighbor, a teacher not to mention the cook, maid, chauffeur, and everything else we add into our lives.

So here is my advice about math:

No matter how you try to divide yourself, you are still only one person.

So don't try to divide yourself into too many pieces.

It may mean that those that are closest to you will get only a fraction of what they deserve.

So subtract things out of your schedule. It will be okay.

Take time to add in those moments that matter and make memories that are erasable.

Make cookies & multiply the joy by sharing with others.

Zero in on what really matters.

Those years and days will add up faster than you can imagine.

We only have them for short time.

Take a minute to hold & enjoy the kids in your home. Really enjoy them!

So when your adding up all the things in your day. Subtract things out you really don't need.

Do all you can to make sure that all those seconds & minutes count.

Make them really count.

- Tiffany