Roaring Good Time

I am having a ball with my sweet preschoolers!  They are so precious.  I've been blessed with absolutely the sweetest group of children.  They are coming together as a group to encourage either and work well together. 

Today we began our morning work under my big umbrella because it was raining outside. Our Bible lesson was Joseph and his coat of many colors.  The kids made beautiful water color coats. 

Our unit study this week was about bears.  So the kids acted out the story as I read it, complete with hibernating and roaring when they woke up!   I'm pretty sure my teacher friend across the hall really appreciated our energy! 

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17

Book Signing with Kevin Henkes

What an enjoyable evening with friends at Barnes and Noble Bookstore.  We went for a book reading and signing by Kevin Henkes who is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Henkes told the story that he thought he would be an artist until his junior year of high school, when one of his teachers encouraged him in his writing efforts. He discovered that children's books combined both his literary and artistic interests.  To date he's written and illustrated some 50 books!

Frankie and I went to the event with one of my sweet friends from church and her precious girls.  It was a delightful evening.  The kids in the audience giggled in delight at his stories and drawings! 

The living, the living—they praise you,

    as I am doing today;

parents tell their children

    about your faithfulness.

Isaiah 38:19

Service with a Smile

This evening was one of our service nights at church.  Member participated in lots of great areas.  The biggest project we work on is assembling M.A.G.I. boxes for Healing Hands International. These gift boxes are delivered to needy children in Honduras, Mexico, Texas-Mexico Border, the Dominican Republic, and Zambia. 

We also made cards for our widows and shut-in.  Some of the men spread new mulch on the preschool playground. Lots of great things going on tonight! 

"For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man."
- II Corinthians 8:21

Taking Off

Today our homeschool group visited Frontiers of Flight Museum.  It has been a favorite for a long time.  When Dad would visit from Tulsa this is one of the museums we would visit.  They have an extensive display of over 30 aircraft.  

Some of the collections include early biplanes, historically important military and general aviation aircraft, the World War II exhibit, the extensive history of Southwest Airlines exhibit area, numerous commercial airline artifacts, the iconic Chance Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake” and the Apollo 7 command module.

The museum is hands on and the kids had a great time touching and exploring the exhibits. One of my favorite things about this museum is that most of the docents are former pilots. Their stories are fascinating. 

May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:12

Painting with Preschoolers

I am having a wonderful time with my sweet preschoolers.  They are the sweetest group of kids.  There are thirteen kids and they are all very big personalities.  Most of them will be five years old before Christmas.  

Today we read the story of Corduroy the bear who just wanted a home. After story time we painted paper plate Corduroy bears.  

There are so many things to teach the kids in preparing them for kindergarten between letter, numbers, shapes, sounds, etc.  But the most important thing they will learn is that Jesus loves them.  The church is a warm, safe place.  And that their teacher adored and valued them.  If I accomplish those things it will be a successful school year! 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14

HSAA Angels Victory Over Naaman Forest

Tonight the lady Angels faced Graland ISD's Naaman Forrest High School.   

Abigail caught for two innings and then played in the field to allow another catcher some time behind the plate. The HSAA Angels didn't commit a single error in the field. Abigail had the most chances in the field with seven!

She had two at bats and one run!  Always a good night for a ball game and winning 7-4 made it even sweeter! 

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:6

Family Fun

Caleb came home from LCU for the weekend.  I planned a fun guys day for the boys, provided the girls and I could follow them along.  Our first stop of was Axe Throwing!  Yep, you read that right.  Who knew there was such a thing.  I got an email ad a month ago for a Escape Room that also offers Axe Throwing.  Apparently on Saturday nights they even have an league that competes.

The instructor shows you how to throw the axe, first two handed and then on handed.  There are different rules in scoring but basically it's scored like bowling. Both of the guys threw really well, in fact the instructor said they had throwers competing the night before who didn't score as high as they did in their first round! 

Later in the day we headed over to the kids favorite archery range to shoot.  Caleb said he's missed having his bow at school and wanted to hit the range.  He can't have any kid of weapon on the campus. Frankie and Abigail also shot a few rounds today.  After all that fun we rounded off the day with dinner at Abuelo's.   

The Lord reproves him whom he loves,

    as a father the son in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:12

Texas Instruments SMART Scholarship

In the spring Abigail applied for the SMART Endowed Scholarship at Collin College.  The scholarship:  SMART, Science Mathematics Advanced Research and Technology, scholarship is offered through an endowment from Texas Instruments for students at Collin College who are majoring in science, math, computer science, engineering or pre-engineering.

About a month ago Abigail was notified that she was one of the recipients of the award.  The college held an awards banquet for all the scholarship recipients.  There were dozens of various scholarships awarded tonight. 

The man and woman in the photo with Abigail were at her table representing Texas Instruments who sponsored the scholarship. She had a grand time at the big event and really enjoyed getting to know the business woman from TI.

I'm so proud of her hard work and accomplishments!  

I will praise you with an upright heart,

    when I learn your righteous rules.

Psalm 119:7

Training Tots

I'm loving working with my sweet class full of four and five years olds.  The preschool is a wonderful ministry for the church.  Many of the kids are members of the congregation, but close to 60% of the attendees are from the community! 

That's amazing to me! We have families bringing us their children and entrusting us with their care, and allowing us to teach them the Bible!  Each morning we start our day with chapel for the 60+ kids. In addition to our morning chapel we will have a Bible and Music class.  In the classroom we will have a Bible story and we work on a weekly Bible verse.

There is plenty of time for playing and fun as well as working on our numbers and letters; but I love that the Bible is the focus of our day! 

Train up a child in the way he should go;

    even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Our 5 Senses

This week my sweet preschoolers are working on their five senses.  One of the fun project we've worked on was using marshmallows.  Marshmallows are something the kids can see, smell, taste and feel.  I even sat them out some magnifying glasses the kids could use to inspect the sweet treats.  

For a little extra fun we took the large marshmallows and microwaved them for about 20 seconds to watch them expand!  The kids loved it. I'm loving teaching the spirited group of four and five year olds.  

For privacy reasons I can't post pictures of their sweet faces but I'll try to keep the blog updated with some of our fun! 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
  Psalm 34:8

Thriving on the First Friday

After preschool today the girls and I spent the afternoon serving fruits and vegetables to  our neighbors in McKinney.  Each month the the congregation on McDermott Road serve eighty plus families in the area with fresh produce once a month. 

The rain moved in on us and Frankie and Abigail took bags out to the elderly client's cars.  We were grateful for the tent cover to work with the paperwork up by the trailer.  

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. Proverbs 14:21

Fall High School Ball

Just because Abigail has had select tournament ball all weekend doesn't mean that she gets out of high school ball practice tonight!  the HSAA Angels took to the batting cages at Extra Innings tonight.  High school ball season should begin in two weeks.  Because we are a home school team we rely on the batting cages for practice.  

Because we do not have a home practice field we play ball with the Garland league to get in practice during the fall and to help the girls prepare for the spring season. 

“There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens.” – Tommy Lasorda

tEAMSMiTH Softball

For this Labor Day Weekend the beautiful weather was perfect for tournament ball.  Abigail's select ball team, tEAMSMiTH played several games today and advanced to games tomorrow afternoon. 

My catcher girl had several great plays at the plate and several really good at bats with two RBI's and two runs.  Any day she can play ball is a good day! 

“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” Babe Ruth