Things I never thought I'd say...

Don't put those opossum bones on my kitchen table---use a mat!

You can read more about our recent adventure here.

Wordless Wednesday

The Daughters I've always wanted...

Craft Idea

Flip Flops and Applesauce posted a free Paper Samara Spinner template. It mimics the movement the Samara fruit makes when it whirls and spins down from the tree. We tied this craft in with our (never ending) study on plants and seeds because I'm a hopeless homeschooling mother. But you don't need to do a study on seeds or be a homeschooling mother to make this fun and QUICK craft with your child(ren).

I guarantee you will have a few hours of fun out of this!

My Daughter...

I always wanted to be a mother and there was a period of time I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen...but it did. As much as I would love to have more children I have a feeling this is my last baby...and I'm treasuring every moment with this little lamb. It's really something, because have I mentioned that I'm not really a baby person?

Since I only like well behaved children maybe I'm not much of a kid person either...
I do LOVE being a Mommy though.

For all my sisters who are still trying and wishing

I am praying for you all.
With love,

Valentine Giveaway at Crafty Crow

There is a very cool $25 giveaway going on at the Crafty Crow From Shabby Chic Crafts.
Enter to win by leaving a comment and linking on your blog.
If you don't win you can still check out the merchandise at Shabby Chic Crafts and shop online.
Happy Shopping and Good-Luck!

Psst---I'm over here this week!

I have been on a one week learning adventure with my children so I haven't been posting as much here. You can see what we've been up to at PassportAcademy.com

Option Ultra Sound Program

Every Sunday I am going to do my best to feature a charitable organization that I believe deserves some recognition and attention.

This Sunday I want to call attention to Focus on the Family's Option Ultrasound Program. This Christian organization equips pregnancy medical clinics with ultrasound technology as well as the necessary training to offer limited obstetrical ultrasound to abortion minded women, under the supervision of a licensed physician. Since OUP began in 2004 over 400 clinics in 49 states have received either an ultrasound machine and/or sonography training for their nurses.

The combined provision of counseling and ultrasound results in many women who previously considered abortion to be twice as likely to consider life. It is pretty hard to be told that your pregnancy is "nothing but a bunch of cells" when you can see the truth and see the heartbeat yourself. That is why it is so critical to get these machines and training out to those who desperately need them.

From our experience through IVF I know that my husband's own view on abortion was forever changed when he saw our twin boys heartbeats 12 days after embryo transfer.

The number of babies potentially saved is estimated to be as high as 63,000.

What does that mean for the pregnant women who go on to have and raise the child they almost gave up?

What could that mean for adoptive families waiting to raise and love a child?

Do you want to be a voice for life? Download Focus on the Family's Sanctity of Human life handbook to learn more or view available resources and videos.

RV 101

I'm curently on an RV Field Trip with our children. Our family has never traveled on an RV before and I didn't grow up camping. So I know this is going to be an adventure to say the least. The other part of the adventure will be traveling up through the panhandle to see the various ecosystems and wildlife unique only to Florida. We are going to blog about our adventure at PassportAcademy.com and I'm also posting my lesson plans and resources on the Young Florida Naturalists Blog.

With homeschooling, and life in general, you never know when the learning is going to happen. That certainly was the case for us on this trip as I got a crash course in a little something I'd like to call RV 101 for dummies.

Never open a refrigerator door, no matter how thirsty you are ,when the RV is in motion. Not that I know this from experience of course. The bruise on my head is from something else.

After learning not to open the refrigerator in a moving RV, the next lesson to be learned is to double check that the unassuming looking refrigerator latch is in fact latched. Otherwise when you make a turn, the fully stocked refrigerator door opens and BAM---another lesson on the laws of motion and gravity.

And now onto the casualties. Oh yes, there were casualties.

The RV is just a wonderful invention. If only I could widen my house on demand and gain a few extra feet like you can on an RV. But with the opening and closing of the pop outs come another few lessons.

Make sure the snacks or any necessary item is not stored in the part of the cabinet that pops out. Otherwise you will not be able to access them again until the next time the pop out is open.

Have someone watch during the opening/closing the pop out. Otherwise your cabinet door may catch on something and get ripped completely off the hinges!

Listen to your daughter when she tells you for the fourth time that she feels sick. It is also advisable to forgo the strawberry jello and stick to light colored foods. Need I say more?

Pack lots and lots of paper bags, paper towels, lysol and um, Gorilla Glue.

Tosga Part II Winner Revealed

Congratulations to Shannon for sharing her story about her favorite way that her hubby and daughter spend time to together. Please leave a comment with your address (I won't publish) so that I can mail you the book!

Flower Pot Quiche

If only I didn't have a house full of picky little eaters. I would make this for lunch for my girls.
If you want to get inspired check out the Gourmet Mom on the Go and see how she made this fabulous Flowerpot Quiche from the Fairies Cookbook.


Maybe if my mother had served up some gorgeous looking food like this I wouldn't have been so picky as a child either!

TOSGA Giveway Winners Revealed!

The winner of Sex, Sushi and Salvation is Amy!

The winner of eat your way around the world is Our Family is His!

The Winner of the Beth Moore Praying God's word devotional journal is Andrea

If you were a winner in this giveaway please post a comment with your mailing address ( I will NOT publish it).

Congratulations!

PaperbackSwap.com

I know it's hard to believe, but I actually have a money saving idea to share with all of you! The best part of all is that it not only saves money, but it's GREEN and helps reduce clutter!

My love of books and homeschooling materials was wrecking havoc on my home and oraganization, until I discovered PaperbackSwap.com

With Paperbackswap.com I could list and swap all of the books I no longer wanted and earn credits. You receive ONE credit for EVERY book you mail to another member. Then I could use my credits at any time to "purchase" books from ANY MEMBER on Paperbackswap.com.

It's very simple and highly automated.
You can even purchase the postage online and print the address labels using standard size paper.

Using it is as simple as 1-2-3

1.) Upload your 10 books and get 2 credits immediately (even if no one requests them).
2.) Use your credits to select books from the system (you can also create wishlists).
3.) Wait for your book to arrive. In the meantime, if anyone requests a book from you, you mail it to them and earn 1 additional credit per book you mail.

I have been a member since March 2008 and have already saved over $560 in less than a year!
You can view my online bookshelf and see if anything strikes your fancy.

Since there are NO FEES, you can sign up for free.
When you do, please use KarinKath as the referring member!

If you sign up today and list 10 books you will get 2 free credits so you can begin trading today! Just click here to get started and let me know when you upload your bookshelf so that I can check it out too!

Do I have to be in the Mood?

Sheila, from To love honor and vacuum (with a book by the same name) posed the question, "Do I have to be in the mood?" for her weekly Wifey Wednesday's post.

Men and women think differently about sex. To women, if we're not in the mood, we don't really want to. And we rarely start out in the mood because sex, to us, is primarily relational. We have to feel loved to make love. It's not a physical urge to the same extent.

I have to admit that I am just plain ole never in the mood.
So the answer to this question for me is simply, no.

So when your husband is interested in sex all the time, it's natural for a woman to think there's something wrong with him, because on the whole this isn't how we work.

I used to think there was something wrong with my husband. I mean why was he feeling amorous when I was exhausted? And doesn't he hear the baby crying? Does he not see the spit up on my shirt? Who would ever be in the mood after changing that diaper?!

For a man, on the other hand, it is a physical urge. And it's also related to how he sees himself. He has to make love in order to feel loved.

It does give me pause to realize that for most men, including my husband, this act that I can do without, is how he feels loved.And the last thing I would ever want is for the man I love desperately not to know that. So, I am trying harder and hoping that either my libido grows in future years or his dies(shhhhhh, don't tell Big Daddy I said that!)

How about you?

TOSGA part II

My final give-away in the Heart of the Matter TOSGA giveway is:

My Little Girl by Tim McGraw
Thomas Nelson Publishers 2008

Tell me a favorite story about how your little girl and her daddy spend time together and this book could be yours!

Winner announced Saturday, January 17th

Wood Pioneer Logs

With the current state of the economy, I've really curbed my personal shopping. I confess that it has been a lot harder for me to curb my homeschool shopping though. We just believe in investing in our children's education and its hard for me to pass up an educational toy, game or manipulative. But I am trying. I am definitely learning to be more selective and price sensitive. It doesn't come naturally to me, but I am learning.

Constructive Playthings is having a sale on Wood Pioneer Logs (XX-9431). There are 200 real wooden log components currently on sale for $20.99. They are not the name brand version----but they appear to be just as good and I don't think my boys will notice.

I placed my order this morning.
Let the building begin!

Marriage vs Motherhood

There is a Momversation going on about which is harder: Marriage or Motherhood?
Blog O Beth thinks Motherhood is and wrote about it on her blog. After pondering the question myself this is what I came up with. For me, marriage is the hands-down harder thing.

Look at how many posts I wrote about being a Mommy vs being a Wife?
Clearly I need help in the wife department and its not for lack of loving Big Daddy.

I have far more patience and interest in the seemingly mundane things of life with my children. I am interested in everything they are interested. I cannot say the same about Big Daddy's interests. I can tell you more things about bugs and construction vehicles than I ever thought humanly possible. But let Big Daddy try to blather on about his golf handicap or a new swing technique...

When my children are sick I don't mind waiting on them. I do it and I don't begrudge them. I have deep empathy for their poor little sick selves. I cut the sandwiches in cute shapes and declare marathon movie day! If Big Daddy is sick, I roll my eyes, snort and show no mercy. After all, do my responsibilities come to screeching hault when Mama is sick? I think not. Suck it up Big Daddy!

I love my children unconditionally. There is nothing they could do that would make me stop loving them. Yes, I will have to correct their behavior, but the love will be there always. There are many things Big Daddy could do that would make me not only dislike him, but possibly not love him anymore...and that is where God's grace comes in. Through his grace and his divine design, man and woman are able to be married---despite all of our differences! Our marriage is stronger through each challenge and what doesn't come as naturally as my maternal feelings, comes through time spent together and F-A-I-T-H. Through our mutual relationship with Jesus Christ we are able to have the marriage we have, and find the strength we need to weather the storms. So while our love for each other might not be completely unconditional, it is deeply rooted in faith and unconditional love for Him and for our children.

Yes, for me marriage is harder than motherhood. But I'm ever so grateful (and undeserving) for both and I am blessed to be married to Big Daddy.

Compassion

Compassion Bloggers is looking for Bloggers who would like to go to India April 26-May 2nd to see what Compassion International is doing there and to blog about their experiences.

If you have a blog and are interested in going you can apply here.
After reading the experiences of the Bloggers who went to the Dominican Republic, I can think of no better wish than to be chosen.

TOSGA Giveaway

Heart of the Matter is celebrating their one year anniversary with great giveaways. There are many other great blogs participating and you can too! Click here to find out more about what TOGA is...and thank Kelli Crowe for starting it.

The FIRST person to place a comment will win:

Sex, Sushi and Salvation by Christian George









If you are the 2nd person to place a comment you will receive:
Eat your way around the World by Jamie Aramini








And a lucky Third person (chosen randomly) will receive this just for leaving a comment below:
Beth Moore Praying God's Word Devotional Journal

Interested?
To be illegible you must:
A.) Live in the United States
B.) Post a comment below and post a link to this post on your blog. Because don't you want your friends to have a chance to win something too?

I'll award a winner on Monday Morning!

The road to motherhood that infertility built

Who would have thought that I would one day be grateful for the gift of infertility?
And yet I am.

If not for my infertility I would have never known what an incredible miracle it is to be blessed with a child. It is not something to be taken for granted. Nor is it something to dread or fear; Or something to terminate or feel inconvenienced by. No, it is something to cherish. And it is sadly something some women, no matter how badly they desire it, will never experience.

If not for my infertility I would have never known that I truly can cast all my cares to Him. I would never have known that He desires the best for me and truly desires to give me all the desires of my heart.

If not for my infertility I wouldn't be the mother I am today and the mother I desire to be tomorrow.

If not for my infertility I wouldn't have met, befriended, cried with (and for) the incredible women who are a part of this sisterhood---the infertile ones. Some have crossed the finish line, some gave up, and some are still trudging along with their eyes ahead and their arms empty.

There are in fact many roads to motherhood.
My path may have been the least desirable.
The streets are wet with tears and cracked by many a broken heart.
But it was worth it all, this road to motherhood that infertility built.
And I will be forever grateful to have traveled it.

I'm Published

The much anticipated January 2009 issue of Heart of the Matter is now available.
Featured on the cover is sweet Christian Drews, son of my new friend, and fellow writer at Heart of the Matter, Marsha Drews.

There are so many great articles within for homeschoolers but you should be sure to check out my article on Family Traditions and product reviews, because I'm shameless like that!

You can download the magazine in PDF format OR view it online in flipbook version. If you view it via flipbook version be sure to have your sound on so that you can hear the pages turning. Yeah, we're cool and high tech like that over at Heart of the Matter. And by we, I mean Amy S. and Amy B.

Between the Lions

Between the Lions is our new favorite weekly educational show. We now work it into our daily routine. I tape the episodes on our DVR and we watch them in the morning before breakfast, which gives me a chance to get myself and Cutie Pie dressed for the day.



Their website has a wealth of information to help you extend this show into your curriculum.
You can download the Episode and Curriculum Content Guide, Teacher's Domain with downloadable video segments, Printables, Activities, audio for mp3 and download View/Read/Do Activity pack.

You can also download information on starting a Between the Lions Read Aloud Book Club.


I did also enjoy reading, The Between the Lions Book for Parents, for tips on teaching your child how to learn to read.

Between the Lions is probably what Sesame Street was "back in the day". When I have reading time with the boys, I can see some of the concepts they watched on TV at work. I really cannot say enough good things about Leapfrog Learning Videos and Between the Lions. What a great resource for parents!

Did you notice?

Did you notice I added a new tab across the top? I did it all by myself.
Well, edited it by myself anyway. It's called DECORATOR...It is a passion of mine and it's one I'm going to finally claim in 2009. I hope you enjoy it!

Wordless Wednesday : First Wave

Want to participate? Link your posts here:

What I Want You to Know about Twins

updated with photos

They are a double blessing, not double trouble.



Yes my hands are full, but so is my heart. In our family children are a blessing. To be given two, is a double blessing.

Don't ask me (especially in front of my children) "Which one is the good one and which one is the bad one?" Although all children have good days and bad days, there is no "bad one." If you honestly think so, perhaps you've been watching too many scary movies.


No, they don't look alike, but they are still twins. That is because they are fraternal twins. Instead of one egg splitting in two, two eggs were fertilized. Not all twins look alike. Some are even of the opposite sex, and on behalf of those mothers may I just say--- they really hate it when you look at their boy/girl twins and ask if they are identical!

Please don't ask me if my twins are REAL twins. Is there such a thing as an artificial twin?
Please don't tell me you know exactly what it's like to have twins because your children are 12-18 months apart. I'm sorry, but you don't. You know what it's like to have young children close together, but that is not a twin experience. When you have twins you leave the hospital not with one infant, but with two. You get up at night, not with one newborn, but with two. It's different. I'm not saying one is better than the other. It's just different. On behalf of twin mommies everywhere I had to get that out. It truly drives most of us crazy. It's not a competition or a judgment, it's just a fact.

Unless you know me personally, don't ask me, "Did you use fertility?"
I'm not even sure that question is grammatically correct, but it's what I get asked a lot. I hear from other twin moms they get asked that a lot too. While I am not ashamed of the fact that I needed help to conceive, it's not something I feel like discussing with strangers in aisle 3 of the grocery store. "Does your husband use Viagra?" See what I mean? Rude.

Please don't ask who the older one is. They were born 1 minute apart on the same day. There is no older one in our mind. Our first born sons are both our oldest children. Although some parents of twins may choose to speak about who was born first, our children actually don't know. We didn't feel it was necessary for them to know. It has no bearing on who will be the most outgoing. Trust me, I know where you are trying to go with that question, but the 1 minute older one is not the extrovert or the tallest.


Please don't speak about my children in front of them like they aren't there.
When you stare at my children and declare, "I guess you can tell them apart because that one is shorter." One of my sons feels unnecessary embarrassment and humiliation and I want to just punch you in the face, but that wouldn't be very Christian of me. Yes, one of my sons is taller than the other one. But since they look NOTHING alike, let me assure you that is not how I tell them apart. Here is another fact: Mothers of identical twins can tell their children apart too, imagine that. Even when one is not shorter than the other!

If you don't remember which twin is which. It's okay to ask. Really, it is. Just say, "I'm sorry, but what is your name again?" It's not okay to call them their twins name and when corrected ask, "What difference does it make?" If it didn't make a difference we would have given them the same name!
And finally, I want you to know that twins, even if they look alike, are two individual people. As such they have different talents, personalities, and interests. If you have more than one child at home then you can relate to that. It is wonderful to see and important to nurture. But no matter how different our children may be, they also have a very close bond, and our family chooses to nurture and encourage that. They are truly each others best friend and that has nothing to do with the fact they are homeschooled, so much as it about their twinship. While our twins certainly do have other friends, I am glad they were born with their best friend. So when you see them playing together on the playground, enjoying each others company instead of the company of strangers, don't tell me I really need to separate them more.

I had this idea in 1996!

I love interior design, but I'm not formally trained.
I've been told I have a good eye though and I used to own a small home store.
Unfortunately, I've let people take my confidence away in recent months.
Then I saw this:

It's the 2008 Coastal Living Idea house in Galveston.
It reminded me of this:
Our Jersey Shore House that we owned for two and a half years. We've since sold it but in 1996 I created the room above. I even had the EXACT lighting shown in this picture, I'm just kicking myself that I cannot find a picture of it. I had it put in the following summer. There is only so much work you can get done in 3 months each year.

Anyway, it made me realize that while I might not be the most talented decorator ever to decorate a home. I'm talented enough. And I'm not going to let anyone steal my confidence again.

Is there someone holding you back from living your dream or utilizing your talents or something that brings you joy? Make 2009 the year you take back your dream, claim your talents and live joyfully.