Life at Oak Grove

I am leaving in about 2 hours for a Pastor's wifes conference.  I will sleep overnight and come back late tomorrow.  So I won't see my kids tonight and tomorrow because when I come back they will be in bed...  Mind you, I will go check on them while they are sleeping as I do every night.   They look like so peaceful when they sleep!

I sure hope I won't miss my Gang of Boyz...  

I am leaving in about 2 hours for a Pastor's wifes conference. I will sleep overnight and come back late tomorrow. So I won't see my kids tonight and tomorrow because when I come back they will be in bed... Mind you, I will go check on them while they are sleeping as I do every night. They look like so peaceful when they sleep!

I sure hope I won't miss my Gang of Boyz...

While the kids were napping, I decided to put together one of the boxes...   Well it took me 1 hour 15 minutes because I made an error at one point... and wiggled with the piece for about 10 minutes to put it back properly. 

One down, one to go...

Maybe tomorrow...

While the kids were napping, I decided to put together one of the boxes... Well it took me 1 hour 15 minutes because I made an error at one point... and wiggled with the piece for about 10 minutes to put it back properly.

One down, one to go...

Maybe tomorrow...

In a previous blog, I was telling about the opportunity of toy testing we had for our family with a toy testing councill.  I had done my "training" on how to fill the paperwork a few weeks ago.

We finally got our first call to go pick up the toys we would test.   I am so excited.    So when my two younger were sleeping, I went to pick up the toys while my husband was at home.  

Here's the two boxes my kids will have to test for the next 6 weeks.  

 

Now I just have to open the boxes carefully, put the toys together, and let my two older kids to play with it.   And observe.... observe... observe.   After the 6 weeks, I have to fill a report.  And that's it.    I can't wait to see how they will find it.   When Alexandre saw the boxes, he said "Cool!".  Coming from a 5 year old (almost 6), I think he is excited about it.

We finally got our first call to go pick up the toys we would test.   I am so excited.    So when my two younger were sleeping, I went to pick up the toys while my husband was at home.  
Here's the two boxes my kids will have to test for the next 6 weeks.  

As a good mother, if I want to homeschool I want the best for my kids. We are considering Sonlight but at the same time are wondering if we should wait one year and give Alexandre a base in English with the phonics. So we are looking into this.

French being an important part of our family (we are French Canadian), we want to continue also in that direction. So this morning I called a French bookstore in our city and talk to a lady who agreed to meet with me to look into my options for 1st grade and give me prices. So next week, I will go there for that.

We are thinking of going with Math U See for the maths. Look great! We got the DVD and both of us were like "man I wish I had that when I was a kid". I can explain in French if needed.

So as you can see, I am doing some homework... I will also get the different curriculum books from the Ministry of Education of our province to make sure I cover all what is needed for the grade level Alexandre will be at.

As a good mother, if I want to homeschool I want the best for my kids.   We are considering Sonlight but at the same time are wondering if we should wait one year and give Alexandre a base in English with the phonics.  So we are looking into this.

French being an important part of our family (we are French Canadian), we want to continue also in that direction.   So this morning I called a French bookstore in our city and talk to a lady who agreed to meet with me to look into my options for 1st grade and give me prices.   So next week, I will go there for that.

We are thinking of going with Math U See for the maths.   Look great!   We got the DVD and both of us were like "man I wish I had that when I was a kid".   I can explain in French if needed.

So as you can see, I am doing some homework...  I will also get the different curriculum books from the Ministry of Education of our province to make sure I cover all what is needed for the grade level Alexandre will be at.

A few weeks ago, I bought a kit titled Make your own Igloo!  from Scholastic.   During the March break, I was testing the homeschooling waters with my eldest to see how it will go and not only it went well but we used the little architect we have in us to build an igloo.   The results are interesting.  Please check the picture below.

I wonder how esquimos could live in something like this.  But according in the little booklet we got with the kit, it is supposed to be very warm in there.   Maybe someday I will fly to Nunavut and try it...  For now, I really like my house during the cold season.

 

inSPIRE is a ministry from our church Sequoia Community Church for women in leadership position.   We are 19 women to start this new "edition" of inSPIRE.   It will be wonderful to get to know all these women.

This 9-month process will begin in April and finish sometime in December.  We will have 2 two-night retreats and some saturdays meeting during the 9 months.    We will develop the following aspects of our life; spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational and emotional.  We will also commit to a minimum of 30 minutes per day of devotional time alone and quiet time with God.  

I'm quite excited about participating to this event.   Please pray for me so that God do what he needs to do so I can grow according to His will.

• Grace-Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel  (I need to read this one before the conference on April 25th in Ottawa)


• Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling (this one is started but I really want to finish it.   Huge book with tons of interesting information.)


• For women only by Shaunti Feldhahn (started a while back and I really want to finish it).


• The complete works of  E.M. Bounds on Prayer in contemporaruy English (Started as well but there is so much to read in it that I am taking it slowly...)


• Married to a Pastor by H.B. London & Neil B. Wiseman  (just started this book after a situation brought me some stress and I needed to understand the future role of my husband and myself when we plant our church).


• Praying the names of God by Ann Spangler (daily devotions that will continue).


• Yada Yada prayer group gets rolling by Neta Jackson (LOVE the series.... obviously I want to read the next book which will come out sometime in April).   IN ORDER


• The Poems and Prayers of Helen Steiner Rice   


• Me, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer.   (A must in our household I think since we are BIG fans of Veggie Tales since before we had kids... )  


• Beyond Survival: A Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling by Diana Waring (this book was lent to me by a fellow homeschooler mom from our church - Thanks Robin!)

To top it off, I will have to do daily devotions with inSPIRE for the next 9 months.   So I will continue my current devotions and do regular daily time with God.

A few weeks ago, I bought a kit titled Make your own Igloo!  from Scholastic.   During the March break, I was testing the homeschooling waters with my eldest to see how it will go and not only it went well but we used the little architect we have in us to build an igloo.   The results are interesting.  Please check the picture below.

I wonder how esquimos could live in something like this.  But according in the little booklet we got with the kit, it is supposed to be very warm in there.   Maybe someday I will fly to Nunavut and try it...  For now, I really like my house during the cold season.

inSPIRE is a ministry from our church Sequoia Community Church for women in leadership position. We are 19 women to start this new "edition" of inSPIRE. It will be wonderful to get to know all these women.


This 9-month process will begin in April and finish sometime in December. We will have 2 two-night retreats and some saturdays meeting during the 9 months. We will develop the following aspects of our life; spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational and emotional. We will also commit to a minimum of 30 minutes per day of devotional time alone and quiet time with God.

I'm quite excited about participating to this event. Please pray for me so that God do what he needs to do so I can grow according to His will.

On Monday, we received a box full of different kind of chocolate to sell.   They are doing a fund-raiser to buy another playstructure for the back yard.    The school being new, there isn't much for the kids to play outside.   So we sell - CHOCOLATE.   So far so good, there is about half the box gone.   Still a few more and it will be gone...

It brought back some memories from when I was a girl guide and had to sell calendars or chocolates.   Back then the chocolate was 1$ or 2$.   Now it is 3$ and up.   OUF!

Anyhow, I am confident that we can go through the box.   If not, no big deal...

Spring is there today and already I got a surprise.   I was at Carlton Cards to buy a Willow Tree figurine (my first one!) and I got a call from my husband.   CHRI had called because I won one of the prize package for Fulton's sugarbush.    The smell of maple syrup...   Mmmmm!    I can hardly wait until Saturday to go.    It's gonna be delicious!   It has been years since I went to a sugarbush.    Oh what fun it will be to bring the boys there.  Their first time to taste it.  Mind you, we have maple syrup at home but on the snow... taffy is great!

On Monday, we received a box full of different kind of chocolate to sell. They are doing a fund-raiser to buy another playstructure for the back yard. The school being new, there isn't much for the kids to play outside. So we sell - CHOCOLATE. So far so good, there is about half the box gone. Still a few more and it will be gone...


It brought back some memories from when I was a girl guide and had to sell calendars or chocolates. Back then the chocolate was 1$ or 2$. Now it is 3$ and up. OUF!

Anyhow, I am confident that we can go through the box. If not, no big deal...

Spring is there today and already I got a surprise.   I was at Carlton Cards to buy a Willow Tree figurine (my first one!) and I got a call from my husband.   CHRI had called because I won one of the prize package for Fulton's sugarbush.    The smell of maple syrup...   Mmmmm!    I can hardly wait until Saturday to go.    It's gonna be delicious!   It has been years since I went to a sugarbush.    Oh what fun it will be to bring the boys there.  Their first time to taste it.  Mind you, we have maple syrup at home but on the snow... taffy is great!

Yes, this day 38 years ago, I was born....   I am priviledge to share my birthday with a dear friend from the States, Heidi....

Did you know that today is also BIG BIRD birthday?    It is according to the book Every Day a Holiday from Silvana Clark.

Yesterday I was blue and delete my previous blog.   This is my new one and I sure hope to make new friends... 

We are currently investigating homeschooling and I did marvelous discoveries so far.   We will be attending a homeschool conference in April in the region here and we hope to finalize our decision soon.

We have three boys; 5 3/4, 3 and 16 months.   They are very precious and we love them very much.