Candle By Night

More Pictures...again!

2009-11-06T10:12:00.001-05:00

You know I can't resist showing more pictures of my children..especially now since I have 4. :-)

Big Thoughts for Little People

2009-11-06T09:03:00.004-05:00

* Mama Buzz, and reviewers, were provided with a complimentary copy of this book for blog tour purposes*

Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth N. Taylor

Ages 3-7

Hardcover retails for $14.99

From back cover:

With all-new art, Big Thoughts for Little People is an updated version of the best-selling picture book by renowned children's author Kenneth N. Taylor. Using the alphabet as a learning tool, this beloved picture book connects Bible themes and verses with engaging art.

Children and adults will enjoy learning biblical concepts and verses while searching for lessons (and hidden ladybugs) in the art. Learning has never been so much fun!

My Thoughts:

I once again had the privilege to review another childrens book. I was so excited to open this package when it arrived. The format is wonderful to say the least. Each letter is associated with a word (obviously...LOL) and a phrase follows that helps to remember what the letter stands for. Like a is for asking, b is for behave, etc. Then there is a paragraph talking about the corresponding illustration. Not only does it draw attention to certain aspects of the illustration, it also draws the child's attention to our Heavenly Father.

There are also a few questions to prompt the parent (or caregiver) to have a discussion with the child(ren). It helps the child(ren) to think outside of themselves and to focus on what they can do for others. It's so much fun to hear all three of my older children give ideas on things they can do to help others. :-) They get so excited coming up with all the ideas!

Who wouldn't want to read this book to their children? I highly recommend it to anyone that has a child they can read to. :-) Thanks again to Tyndale for allowing me the privilege to review this book.

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado

2009-11-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

*This book was given as a complimentary copy to Mama Buzz and reviewers, for blog tour purposes.*

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado
Ages 4-7

Retails for $16.99

My Thoughts:

When we received this package in the mail my children were outside playing in a huge pile of leaves. As I pulled the book out of the package my youngest (at the time) came right over and was intrigued by the bright and colorful cover. Little E immediately asked for me to read him the book. I think I read it three times and I finally had to tell him to go and play in the leaves a little more. He didn't want to, but once I promised to read it again he finally went on to play. I have always enjoyed books by Max Lucado and this one is no different. This book has provided an opportunity for the children and I too discuss how special we are to God. That no one is "too small."

It reminds me of times as a child when you don't get picked first for the kickball game or to be in someone's group for a class project. Actually, it happens to adults as well. With my youngest two we had to take more time to explain the meaning behind the story, but with the rhymes....it kept them intrigued. They also enjoyed picking out different things that they would find on each page.

Not only does the story attract the attention of the children, but so do the illustrations. I know it is recommended for the 4-7 age range, but my 2 1/2 year old enjoys it as do I. It's a wonderful read aloud story for everyone. :-) Thank you again to the publishers for giving me the opportunity to review this book for them. :-)

**After writing this review last night my Beloved read the story to the children. Once again I believe he had to read it 3 times before they were satisfied and I am sure I will be reading it many times again today as well. :-)**

More Pics of My Blessings

2009-11-02T13:18:00.007-05:00

Sorry..couldn't resist sharing more pictures with everyone. :-) Enjoy!

Picture Time!

2009-10-28T15:24:00.006-04:00

I promised pictures...so here you go. :-)

She's here!

2009-10-27T19:43:00.001-04:00

Our newest addition was born at 11:59 am today. She weighs 8 lbs 5 oz and is 21 inches long. I will try and post pictures tomorrow as I am typing this from the laptop in my bedroom and am not at the main computer. Thanks for all the prayers. Blessings!

It's begun...

2009-10-27T06:15:00.001-04:00

Just like I said I would let you all know when it is time. Well...it's time. I have been in labor for almost 4 hours. If it is like the others...I have about 9 hours to go. Will update when I can. Blessings....

Nope...

2009-10-26T15:40:00.003-04:00

still no baby. Thought I better let everyone know. Little E had a nasty spill yesterday. This is what he looked like about 4 hours after it happened. He took such a nasty fall...it was just as hard on Mama as it was on him.

This is what he looks like today. The swelling is almost gone, but now scabs have formed on his upper lip and nose. He also has a large knot and a cut on the back of his head. The under side of his upper lip is black and as the day has progressed......the bruises are showing up more and more. Well...that is all for now. I have leaves to rake and soccer in a couple of hours.

Waiting....

2009-10-19T14:24:00.018-04:00

as patiently as possible. My due date is this Wednesday. My children have never been early. So I am looking at anywhere from tomorrow the the beginning of next week. But I much prefer sooner than later. :-D Right now I am procrastinating on doing work....Why?! Why do I do this to myself? Bless the Schwartz girls for coming over and helping but the very next day you would never even know that they were here. I need to get my sewing room in order at least so people don't have to trip over things when they need to get upstairs.

So...one more thing I want to do before I get to work. I wanted to share some pictures. Up first are some pictures from the soccer games Saturday. Let me just say...it was freezing!!!! The children love helping set everything up for soccer. Here is Big T helping Mr. R get the tent put together for the run through.

The boys working on getting the sound system ready.

Papaw Krumme and Little E trying to stay warm.

Big T's team running out the "tunnel" before the start of the game. :-)

Big T and N trying to warm up before the game.

Sweet E tried her best to stay warm before her game.

Not sure what to say about this one. LOL

Go Yellow Jackets!

Then it was time for the Little Cobras to take the field. :-) They actually ran out this time instead of walking. :-D

Don't you know it's easier to throw the ball while sticking out your tongue? :-D

Up next is a picture of the roses Beloved surprised me with last week. Aren't they beautiful?

And I am just going to end this post with some Autumn pics. This is my favorite time of year. I just wish the camera could capture the richness of the colors. Enjoy!

May you all have a blessed week!

I'm back!

2009-10-15T23:05:00.002-04:00

Praise the Lord...my Beloved is awesome! After contemplating on the computer issue for a few days he had one last idea to try before saying it was completely dead. And he was right. I know have my computer back which means I can get to all of our school resources and I can download pictures again. Which means when the baby comes you all will be able to see him/her right away. Isn't that great? Just wanted to let you all know that. :-)

Computer is.....

2009-10-14T17:19:00.003-04:00

no more. I don't know why it is, but every year we have something happen to our computers. And no...it isn't anything we have done! :-) Usually it is a hard drive or lightening frying the modem. Well, we are pretty sure it is the motherboard. And to replace it with the exact same model is going to cost a good chunk of money so it is just going to have to wait. Which...is okay...just can't download pics. Beloved may have to go to his parents home to put them on a disk so they don't pile up too high on the camera...and so I can post them here. I do have a 10 year old laptop, but it barely lets me send out email or put a blog post up.

I should do a quick explanation. The reason we want the same motherboard is because we backed up our system almost every week. Although I don't think it did it this past week. (Oh well...) but to get the image to transfer back to the computer when it is back up and running the system needs to be pretty much exactly the way it was. If it isn't.....all the info will pretty much be spit back out and just cause more trouble. So all of the backup we did may not even work. So we will just have to wait and see. I just wanted to let you all know what was going on.

Blessings to you! (Should say that I will post when the baby arrives...I will take time to do that!)

Still sick....

2009-10-09T17:30:00.012-04:00

Unfortunately we still have sickness in the house. Praise the Lord that Big T no longer has a fever and Sweet E (at this point) does not seem to be sick at all. Little E has a runny nose, but if that is the worst of it...that is fine with me. Beloved is slowly getting better, but he still feels pretty bad. And the antibiotics make his stomach hurt as well. Can't win either way. As for me...my head feels really stuffed up (pressure) and my sinus' hurt. I pray that this goes away very soon as we try to get everything ready for when the baby decides to arrive. It's so exciting to think we will have a new little person in the house very soon. Seems like it has been forever since we had a baby in the house.

I still have a lot to learn with our new camera, but the children give me plenty of opportunities. They just love to ham it up for the camera....as you can see here with Sweet E. :-)

Oh...and I have received a couple of packages this past week. I know you may not care, but I love getting packages. It doesn't happen very often around here....it's very rare. :-) First up was my order of SKOY cloths. Beloved loves to use these to wash dishes and I think they are just great. I love the colors I got this time: yellow, orange, pink, blue, green, and purple. They even come packaged very pretty. :-)

Next up is my order from Stash Tea. I have been waiting about 8 months to place another order and we finally saved up enough to do it. :-)

The tall boxes have 30 tea bags and look at all the yummy flavors we ordered. :-)

The white christmas tea is my favorite hot tea to drink during the winter months. The Christmas eve tea is our favorite iced tea to make. It is sooooo yummy! I even got a sample of Merry mint tea and Pumpkin spice tea. I figured the Pumpkin spice was appropriate for this time of year. I hope it is as good as it sounds. The orange spice was a freebie they threw in my order. Can't wait to try it either. I much prefer loose leaf tea, but these bagged teas are pretty good too. And now I don't have to worry about running out of these during the winter months. :-)

Oh....have you seen these adorable mugs? (Snowman mugs)

Aren't they just the cutest things ever! My MIL has a set and it is so much fun to drink Hot Cocoa from these mugs. You can't help but giggle when you get about half way done with your cocoa and you see a nose poking through...and then the eyes. They definitely make you smile. Maybe someday I can add these to my collection. You know I am a sucker for anything with snowflakes and snowmen (I guess it's because I have the last name of SNOW! LOL) It's all your fault Mama Snow...you started me on this! LOL ;-)

Soccer and Sickness

2009-10-07T17:54:00.008-04:00

Yes, you read that correct. We have sickness in the house and only 2 weeks till the baby is due! Beloved has been hit hard by something and is on antibiotics. Sadly he said he feels worse today than he did on Monday. Big T had a fever yesterday, but appears to be okay today. I am praying that whatever it was won't return. And then there is me....I have a head cold and feel like I have been hit by a Mac truck. As for Sweet E and Little E, they appear to be doing just fine and I pray that it stays that way. We definitely don't need sickness in the house whenever the baby decides to make his/her appearance.

As for soccer....still going strong. We have 4, possibly 5 games left in the season. It all depends if they decide to make up the game that was rained out or not. I am having a hard time focusing right now (head is all stuffed up) but I wanted to show a few pictures to you all. Hope you enjoy them. Not sure what this face is.... LOL!

Maybe she thought it was time for ballet? ;-)

I love this pic because of the face that Miss S is making. :-)

Warming up before the start of the game.

Here we go!

Go Big T!

Little E enjoying the day

I pray that you all are having a blessed week and are staying healthy! I pray to have pictures to share with you all very soon of a lovely little baby.

Chloe Update and Prayer Request

2009-10-06T21:46:00.003-04:00

I just realized I hadn't given an update about Chloe. She had her scan done the other week and no seizure activity was found. Praise the Lord...now what is causing this....not sure. I haven't had a chance to ask Anna more about it. BUT...the main concern now is Anna's brother. Here are two articles to give a quick run down on what has happened. (Ski resort employee found injured and Resort employee rescued) From what I understand his injuries were not too terribly bad considering all that had transpired. The concern now is that he is running a fever and the doctors do not know why. He has bleeding in his brain and is refusing to eat or drink anything given to him. So if you could continue your prayers for Anna and the rest of her family during this time...I know it would be greatly appreciated. Blessings to you all.

**Just received an update that he ate dinner last night. Praise the Lord!**

Soccer and Preparation

2009-09-30T16:27:00.006-04:00

Preparation......that is a word at the top of our family's vocabulary right now. We are busy cleaning, decluttering, reorganizing, etc to get ready for blessing #4's arrival. I can't believe my due date is exactly 3 weeks from today. I have a long way to go on our to do list, but I pray that we can get the majority of it done in time.

On Monday we were able to have soccer practice (the Saturday games were cancelled due to rain. the children were so sad) But...practice was freezing! It's hard enough when it's cold and windy, but when it's cloudy on top of that....it seems even colder. I did capture a few pictures of practice on Monday. Coach and the thick skinned Little Cobras. :-)

Not real sure what little Miss S was doing, but she was having fun. :-)

Little E kept warm by playing on the swings/slide, joining the Little Cobras scrimmage, and walking in between Big T and Sweet E's practices. Wish I could have felt warmer. I just pray the rain holds off for Saturday and that we at least have a little sunshine. :-)

Big T is in all blue.....I am happy I actually captured a picture of him AND the ball in the same shot. I usually take the picture too late. :-(

Procrastination.....that is the other word on my vocab list right now and it needs to be crossed off! So I better get off of the computer and get to work. Need to do work on the MB and get the bassinet put together in preparation for the baby. I pray that you all are having a great week. And to my Sissy.....HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT FIRST DAY at your NEW JOB! (((HUGS)))

More Camera Fun...

2009-09-27T21:19:00.011-04:00

Still have a lot to learn on settings and such, but just wanted to share some more pics. :-)

New Camera!

2009-09-24T14:38:00.016-04:00

I can't even tell you how excited I am to have a new camera. Problem is......I need a lot of practice with it. This is what we have. It's a Nik*n s630.

It's a point and shoot, but a more complicated point and shoot than our last one. This has many, many more features. Many of the photos I have taken have turned out blurry, but once I play around with it...change the settings, the flash, etc then it turns out okay. So it's a more complicated point and shoot than what I am used too, but I am just excited to have a good camera to capture soccer pictures and pictures of our new blessing due in about 3 1/2 weeks. So ....bear with me...here are a bunch of random photos I took yesterday. Like I said I still need a ton of practice, but I am getting there. :-) ( should add that I love the macro setting...our old camera couldn't take any pictures up close...they were all way too blurry and this has a 7 x zoom)

I should say that.....No, the dark haired little boy is not my child. That is precious little Jacob. He decided he would rather sleep than visit. (But that is perfectly okay...he had a long day) The last picture is of Sweet E and her drawing....She said it was me and she wanted to get a picture taken of her creation. How can a Mama resist? So prepare yourselves...as I learn to use this camera you will see lots more photos hopefully. :-)

Chloe Update

2009-09-21T08:51:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to give a quick update for everyone about sweet little Chloe. Anna, her Mama, thinks she had another seizure last night (but she said it was different from the others). So she isn't exactly sure what was going on. And besides that the poor sweetheart was waking up every 20-30 minutes with night terrors. Please continue to keep this family in your prayers and that the doctor's can figure out what is going on with this little angel.

Resting in the Lord

2009-09-18T12:11:00.002-04:00

I don't usually post about things like this, but I just wanted to share that I am struggling today. Many things are going on and it just came to a "head" today. Right now I am just seeking the Lord and resting in his presence. I pray you all are having a great week and may the Lord bless you.

Please Pray With Me

2009-09-16T10:58:00.002-04:00

I am asking that everyone please keep this precious child of God in their prayers.

As some of you may remember Chloe and her Mama, Anna, came to visit us about this time last year. Their first night here little Chloe had her first seizure. Let me just say I never thought, in a million years, that I would find a police office coming up the stairs in my home and an ambulance outside.....ever. I know it was more than frightening for Anna as well as her husband was deployed at the time. It was a struggle just to get a hold of him.

Well...fast forward a year....Anna's husband is deployed once again and in the past couple of weeks Chloe has had 2 more seizures. The second one was just this morning. I know Anna is waiting to hear back from the neurologist on what steps to take now that this second one has occurred so close to the previous one. So please....please...keep little Chloe (She is about 1 week older than Sweet E) and especially her Mama, Anna, in your prayers. I know it is hard having their Papa away during this time and I am sure he would much rather be back home as well. We love you Chloe and Anna and we are praying for you!

SOCCER!!!!

2009-09-15T14:56:00.004-04:00

The first Upward Soccer game was this Saturday. For this being very new to our family, and many others, I think it went very well. But, I am very happy that Big T and Sweet E play at different times this coming Saturday. Going between 2 different fields really takes it out of you (especially when they are on the opposite ends of one another). So I just wanted to share a few pictures from game day. I hope you enjoy. :-)

Right at the 6 week mark!

2009-09-09T13:50:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that after today....The baby will be due in less than 6 weeks! Ack! I have so much stuff to get done. Praise the Lord I have a wonderful Hubby to help out with everything. :-) One of the first things I tackled was our games. Here is a picture of some games I have on top of china cabinet. I would guess that it was about 3/4 of the games and puzzles that we own. So it went from this.....

To this......

You can see in the blue crate in the middle the boards for the board games. Each one has been labeled for easy access. Then all of the games pieces and instructions were placed into a plastic bag and then labeled. This even includes a lot of games that we had stored in another location. So...one thing can be crossed off of my list, but many more to go. *Sigh* Oh well.

Soccer practice was canceled on Monday due to rain. Boy...did it rain! And our family found it out the hard way. We were on mile marker 3 on the trail when it started to rain. Which meant...the 3 miles back to the start of the trail and then about 2 more miles home. Everyone was soaked except for Little E. He was in the trailer with the rain shield on. Big T and Sweet E were so dirty from riding on the trail-a-bike behind beloved and I. They had water/dirt flipped up in their faces. I felt so bad, but there was nothing to be done. Anyway, there is a quick update and now I need to update our HS blog. The new video is pretty funny. Sweet E is a character. :-)

**Oh, I forgot to add one more picture. I took this on Sunday.

You can see the one I took last year on the bottom of this page (just scroll all the way down.)

Bread, Soccer and the Camera

2009-09-01T22:14:00.009-04:00

Well, I figured I better post a few pictures while I still could. It takes me about 4 minutes or so of constant trying to get my camera to turn on and take pictures (I am not kidding). I would be surprised if it lasts another week or so. I am praying that it will hold out for a long while yet. But I guess I will have to wait and see. Anyway, the other day I made a wonderful gluten free bread recipe. I have been trying to get it to rise higher and this time it did. I was so excited it looked all beautiful coming out of the oven...see?

But after setting out for just a couple of minutes it started to deflate. :-( I was so sad. I don't know...should I have baked it longer? It did look really good, but it just didn't stay. Oh well...Beloved and the children still enjoyed it but I won't be happy until it "stays!" LOL :-)

This past Saturday was picture day for Upward Soccer. It was so cute to see all the children in their uniforms and our family lucked out big time. Big T's pictures were at 9:45 am and Sweet E's were at 10:00 am. Right after one another. I thought we would at least have to wait for a half an hour, but they were scheduled back to back. I wanted to try and get a picture of Sweet E and Big T together in their uniforms at home, but Sweet E had another idea. She wanted nothing to do with it. This is the best I got. (I should add that Big T is the one that suggested posing like this)

Then she was gone.....

But her spot was quickly taken. :-)

What do you think? Future upward soccer player? :-)

Then this past Sunday the family got together to celebrate our niece's 17th birthday. I still can't believe she is a senior and will be graduating this year. I still remember her as the "very proper" young lady at our wedding. I made her a shirt with a reverse applique '10 on it. She seemed to like it.

So now I am off to update our school blog...busy week. We had soccer practice Monday night, I pick up the coop order tomorrow, midwife appointment Friday, meeting Saturday night, and during the day on Saturday we have a PNB family "function" at a campgrounds near where Beloved works. So...I pray you all are having a blessed week.

Here We Go Again!

2009-08-27T10:27:00.002-04:00

I thought after potty training two in the last three years that the third time wouldn't be so hard. Yeah....someone should have smacked me upside the head. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was dreaming. I have had times where I wonder why I am even trying to do this and then I remember I have a new baby arriving in about 8 weeks. This would be my first chance to not have 2 in diapers. Then I smile thinking of only having to change diapers on one child and the money we will save. So with the Lord's help I am pushing on through. Sorry I haven't had pictures lately. My camera only works about 1/3 of the time now and when it does work I do my best to get pictures of our homeschool lessons and projects. So remember to check on over at our homeschool blog to see some updates there as well. So...I better head on over to update that blog and get to cleaning, organizing, decluttering, and potty training. I pray you all have a blessed week! :-)

Soccer Time

2009-08-18T16:41:00.006-04:00

Last night was the first upward soccer practice for Big T, Sweet E, and even Beloved. Yes, Beloved is the coach of Sweet E's soccer team. Nothing like trying to teach seven 3/4 year olds. Big T had so much FUN. He can't wait until next practice. Poor guy has a hard time waiting a whole week. :-) Beloved did well coaching for the first time. I know it was a little overwhelming (the whole idea) for him at first, but in my opinion he did very well. Sweet E was the only girl for half of the practice, but she held her own and made some new friends that ...as she said...."that are girls." She loves it when she gets to play with other little girls. I don't have a lot of pictures yet, but I wanted to share the few that I have so far.

Coach and his team (minus 1). A lovely little girl was a little late for practice.

Big T and his partner practicing passing and dribbling. :-)

The whole family is excited about next weeks practice. :-) And I will do my best to take more pictures.