Pencils, paperclips and dancing popcorn.

Today was a day of thriving, to be sure. I had so much fun with my kiddos! What a blessing it is to be a Mama, don't ya think? We did mini music lessons, played math and reading games, we read about mollusks, did a science project and created fun things with pencils and paperclips. My house is a little messy, but the mess is well worth it! 

Our experiment today, was to make popcorn seeds dance. You can do it too! Fill a jar with water, add some vinegar then some baking soda and some food coloring (just for fun)...drop in the seeds and in a moment or two you will see them start to bounce up and down! From this we learned, that mixing the vinegar and baking soda produces carbon dioxide, which is gas. The gas bubbles carry the seeds to the top and then burst, dropping the seeds to the bottom again. The kiddos loved it! The seeds actually kept dancing for a good hour or so. I am entering this in the 2010 science fair, go check it out!

Later in the day, I dropped a pile of pencils and paperclips on the table. (As suggested by the Think! site) and we had a fun time creating. Here are some of the resulting inventions/art.

The day ended with a couple more games, some reading and discussing and a sweet song. I love my job.

Painting with a wiffle ball.

We have been doing some fun, and dare I say, crazy things around here lately. The first that I will share with you, is a variation on marble painting, except you don't use any marbles. So....I'll just show you what we did.

First I covered the table with garbage bags and the children with very large polo shirts.

Then I laid out four large sheets of paper (easel paper)

Then we blobed some paint on each, next the fun begins!

Pass the ball around the table, through the paint and watch the fun designs appear. 

Then we did a variation on a theme. I set out the paper and instead of putting the paint on it, we rolled the ball  in the paint.

Make sure to use washable paint. 

Let me know if you try it, we sure had a lot of fun.

Homeschooling with games.

Last week my sister brought over some mad libs that she picked up at the local drug store. I didn't think much about it, then we got sick and they just sat on the counter for a while. Well, when we were recovering we hit some kinda boring down time, so I busted out the crazy things. I am so happy I did! My seven, six and almost five year old all now know what a noun, adjective and verb is, and are hungry for more! I know had I tried to teach this in a traditional manner, it would've been like pulling teeth. I wasn't even intending on teaching parts of speech, but now they know, and we have had a ball doing so.

Speaking of fun learning games. I adore the Games for math, reading, writing books by Peggy Kaye. These were first recommended to me by my good friend over at Duct Tape Chronicles. They are chock full of simple learning games that require common household items. The best part is that the kids love the games and even if they don't like one, you did not waste any money,you just try a different one. We played one of the math games today. I made a spiral on a quarter sheet of poster board, then I marked landing spots with shiny star stickers. After that, I made cards with the numbers 1-10 four times each and I made the instruction cards labeled add, subtract, double one and loose a turn. Then each player draws two number cards and an instruction card. Before you know it your kiddos are having a blast memorizing addition and subtraction facts. We only played the game once, and they were begging for more.

Also, they played with waffle blocks today and were so creative with them. Who knew that this plastic building toy is actually great material for making apparel? They created shoes and even a face mask with goggles. I love seeing my children's God-given imagination put into action.

I will not abandon the more traditional school things all together, because, some of my kiddos genuinely love workbooks, but I sure love making learning fun for them.

On top of all that, the house stayed pretty tidy, meals were tasty and the dishes are even done.It was such a sweet fun day together, full of good memories. Oh...there was much more than survival happening here today.

I can make my own powdered sugar, what's your superpower?

Today we made cookies. Not just any cookies,but these amazingly yummy ones from chocolate on my cranium. At first I thought we wouldn't be able to make them because I was all out of powdered sugar. However, I remembered I could make some in my vitamix (my favorite kitchen tool, by the way). It is so simple and even a little healthy...way healthier than the grocery store stuff for sure. This is how it is done (I made a video...but I won't torture you with it). Take 1 1/2c. Evaporated cane juice & 1T. arrowroot powder, place them in the vitamix and turn on high for 30 seconds. Wahlah! powdered sugar. Cool, huh?!

In other news: My amazing husband relieved me of my cabin fever, by taking me out to breakfast. He is so sweet, I have been truly blessed.I spent the rest of the day with my kiddos in our warm and cozy house, safely sheltered from the wind outside. We played mad-libs and drew pictures. Then I made balsamic chicken legs for dinner with lottsa veggies on the side (to make up for the cookies). It was a great day to be alive.

Oh, and if you want to see some more kitchen tips, check out

Good ole cabin fever.

Yes, after the stomach flu, I have now contracted cabin fever. Usually, I get to go out at least on Sunday...but, it has now been a full week that I haven't left the house...on top of that, the weather has not been conducive to sending the children out much.  I am feeling a little antsy and dare I say...bored. Yep, I can get bored with six children in my home. Oh, it's not that I don't have anything to do, It is just that I don't want to do anything here.

So, I will blog. I will tell of the things I have enjoyed the past few days. I am glad that the flu has come and gone...as I was getting sick, I just told myself " It will all be over soon". And you know what? It's over! We survived and can move on. 

I have surely enjoyed the family time. Yesterday, Joe and I played a couple rounds of scrabble. He won the first round, which just riled up my inner competitive spirit and I just had to play again..and smash him I did! I love scrabble :)

This morning my amazing oldest daughter made an alphabet game for her younger sister. It was so cute, there was a little card for each letter then she mad a bunch of small happy and mad faces. (Not sure the mad face is all that cute, but her sister did not seem to mind.) Then Jubilee went through all the sounds of the alphabet with her and rewarded her memory accordingly. Such creativity. Totally self motivated and initiated. I love the things children come up with when left to there own fancy. Had I told her to do this, the experience would've been forced and unnatural.

Jackson and Caedence built this incredible block sculpture. The blocks that are all lined up are children going for a walk around the town. Beautiful. My three year old concentrated so intently as she lined each block one after another. No doubt an excellent activity for her hand eye coordination.

My homeschool philosophy is slowly morphing and changing as time goes on. I am taking notice of how much my children learn just in the normal course of a day as they explore their world. It seems to me, the more I step back, the more they learn. I don't mean to step back completely, but I do mean to pay more attention to their leanings and to know what inspires them. 

So, although I am going a little stir crazy, I am still thriving.

Now I am sick. Thriving, but sick.

My two year old is better, but my two oldest have gone down. My two biggest helpers. You know, the ones who can hold the baby for a moment or who can help little guy get a cup of water. Then, on top of that I feel the symptoms creeping up on me! Watching two children run to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes isn't helping either. I feel so bad for them, they are miserable. 

However, there is still a bit of thriving. We are together. I can turn on a movie and space out...that does help...It calms the children and I can take turns snuggling with each one. I managed to make some yummy naan bread.So, all is not lost...there is still goodness in the day.

Now, I am just going to sit very still and sip my peppermint tea, and hope that Joe can come home early.

Romans 8:37 (King James Version)

 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Thriving in the midst of illness and puke. (yes folks, it is possible)

I woke up this morning to my two year old wondering through the house shouting "ahwer! ahwer!" (translation water! water!). So I stumble to the kitchen and grant the little blondie his request. I stumble around a bit more, still trying to wake up. Then my eyes focus on the before mentioned toddler. There is something odd about his jammies. They had formed a crust. "Oh, you puked!" I blurted out. Now fully awake, I sweep up the little pumpkin and plop him in the tub.


That was how the day began. It could've gone swiftly downhill from there, but, I was determined to not let that happen. Afterall, I just started this blog on thriving and I can't fail on the second post.

So, How did I thrive today? Well, we did watch movies(Thanks to hubby signing up for Netfiix, again! WooHoo!).... Heidi, Madeline and a documentary about shark bite rescuers. Not too bad...could've been worse.

Then we did a super fun craft, that I noticed while surfing The Crafty Crow the other day. It took minimal materials and prep. My munchkins thoroughly  enjoyed it. It simply entails covering a glass bottle with yarn. The result was some nifty decorations, even if I do say so myself. ;) The site that first posted the idea is Scrumdilly-do.


Also the kiddos did some creative block construction while listening to classical violin music on pandora.

Jubilee did a little copy-work from the Psalms and did some artwork for the book she is working on. The others seemed happy and occupied for the most part and there were only two more puking incidents. I even managed to keep the house in pretty good order.


I was going to make granola bars...I'll save that for tomorrow....because it doesn't look like we will be going to our science co-op (I will tell you about that some other time). I'll need to do something to make up for it.


I am excited to see what tomorrow brings, hopefully no illness and many opportunities to thrive.

First entry.

I am blogging again for a couple reasons.
1. My husbands schedule changed and I now have a good time to do it.
2. I just want to keep a record of things I accomplish and things I want to remember.

I want to do this to encourage myself (and perhaps others). It is so easy to get bogged down with the woulda, coulda, shouldas and forget to rejoice about the things that did get done and the moments spent living. I titled this blog "Life, more abundantly"...Taken from

John 10:10 (King James Version)

10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

My husband and I are often told that while our children are young that we are just in a survival mode. Well, we got to thinking about that and realized; we want more than that. We want to Thrive, not merely survive. Oh...don't get me wrong, there are days (many days) Where getting food on the table and keeping the children from running completely wild, is all I can do. But, even on those days...there is some thriving that can be done...slowing down to read a book, going on a quick walk around the block or making a batch of cookies. You know, the little things that make life a little sweeter.

Anyway...Thats what I envision for this blog. A record of my days (not every single one...but many)...and the ways in which I thrived. Oh, and photos, because, I like photos (especially of my kiddos).

Today I had many thriving moments, in spite of a sore throat that is plaguing me. I enjoyed a fun morning with my Husband and kids...I love watching Joe play with the kids and to hear them laugh with delight as he tickles and rough houses. There is nothing like it. I enjoyed the crisp cool air for a short time and admired my daughters ingenuity with such simple things as rocks and wood scraps. I made a yummy snack: Homemade cheese dip with chips. Kinda like this, except...just cheddar and cream with a little salsa added. Then we had dinner and snuggled up to read in front of the fire. It was a good day....I think I thrived.