Wordless Wednesday

With it now being almost Wednesday, I have totally neglected to write "Tuck His Word in Your Heart Tuesdays.  I'm having one of those wordless and emotional days of grief.  Almost all day, non-stop, I have thought of Ethan.  Several times today I have nearly broke down in tears, and perhaps I would have if Evan and I would have not been out on the road running errands.

So today is wordless.  Grief is all I can think of.  Sleep is what I need.  God can carry my burden.  I'm praying for a better day tomorrow.

I have so many pictures to post, but I have no energy at this point to post any.  Perhaps tomorrow?

Sending hugs and love out, especially to all of my new friends who share this challenging journey of grief.

You are so loved by our Father.

Until the next post...lean on Him.

If at First They Don't Succeed, Try Again In a Unique Way

Today during school time, we came to the most exciting and favorite part (okay, I'm being a bit sarcastic):  Handwriting.  I was trying so hard to motivate Evan to keep going and not give up.  He was in tears, I was remaining calm, and got an idea.  I put some rice in a large container (rectangular shaped) and took it back to the homeschool room.  Evan's attitude changed from one of frustration to once of curiosity.  I placed his finger in the rice and helped him write a number 3 in the rice.  Within minutes, he was excited and writing 3's with no problem! Succeed!

If you are finding a particular subject/task to be frustrating, switch it up with something different.  Take school outside and make it fun and interesting!  Don't forget, children need a lot of stretch breaks, and aren't meant to be in a seat for too long.  Children do much better when given frequent stretch breaks from their school work.

By the way, I'm in no way brilliant.  The rice in a container idea I've read from many other homeschool mommies, and in creative activity books.  Venture out onto the internet and see what you can find on blogs.  There are a lot of great homeschool moms out there that are veterans, and a plethora of knowledge!

In Memory of Ethan

Please follow me over at http://wallacefamilyhomeschool.blogspot.com/

My oldest son Ethan Joshua passed on 5 Jun 10. He will be missed so much. I love you Ethan!

Proverbs 3:5
Matthew 7:12

The above scriptures say it all. Ethan loved the Lord with all his heart. He followed the straight path to God, and on the way, he treated others the way he wanted to be treated.

Please keep us in prayer during this transition in our lives. Thank you.

Big News!!!!!!!!!! Really Big!!!

Readers, yes it's been like a million years since I've posted one thing about anything. Remember, jump on over to http://www.wallacefamilyhomeschool.blogspot.com/ to read the latest. I have a huge announcement!!!

Come on over!!!

Friend and family alike, come join me over at my new blog, www.wallacefamilyhomeschool.blogspot.com

I will still post to this blog from time to time, but I wanted to have a homeschool only dedicated blog. The new blog will be a journal for mainly myself to reflect upon, but also for whomever stumbles upon my page. I hope to bring encouragement and insight to other parents, homeschooling or not. Oh, and post some cool pictures of our happenings, trips, nature walks, etc.

Thanks!

Kim Celebrates 6 months of Chemo, now she's done

Hop on over to http://poppy-petal-designs.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-post-will-remain-at-top-please.html and leave Kim a comment, and keep here in your prayers. She just finished up 6 months of chemo, and is giving away blog candy to one special crafter!!! Thanks!

Lori's Birthday Candy

Hey ladies, want some free craft supplies? Hop on over to http://scrapinglori.blogspot.com/ and follow the instructions to be entered to win some lovely stuff!!!

Independence Day 2009

We started the day off making homemade donuts!!! YUMMY!!!

Then we went to the annual Freedom Fest held here on Nellis. They have tons of food (the free food is a long wait, so we opted out of the long line), various vendors, and a kids zone with fun inflatables and such.

We ended the night watching fireworks from the comfort of our front yard!!

Attention Homeschool Moms!!

Hi Ladies!! Tammy over at Three different directions, http://www.threedifferentdirections.com/2009/07/busy-body-book-organizer-review.html, has a nice giveaway!! Check out her blog and enter to win a nice planner tailored just for the busy homeschool mom. :o)

I will be posting some new pictures and happenings soon...

Shannon

Most Recent Stampin' Projects

About 3 weeks ago, I got back into the stampin' mood!!! Hooray!!! The first card shown in the classic black and white colors I made for my boys preschool teachers. I used SU black and naturals card stock. The stamp set I used is Fresh Cuts, and the ribbon is SU black gingham. Oh, and the naturals cardstock was cut with my Big Shot using the Top Note die. :o)








The second card I made for my friend Julie S. for her birthday!! I used the pre-cut card stock from the SU Fresh Cuts promotion from last year, along with the summer designer paper (forget the name of it...from summer '08), really red ribbon and ink.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Papa

We had an exciting visitor a couple weeks ago!! Papa (Shannon's dad) came to visit us for a few days. The boys LOVE Papa!!! It had been nearly a year since we had last seen him, so it was really nice to spend quality time. Actually, it's been a year since we've had any family in town, so the few times we have visitors, we cherish it a lot.

Pictured to the left is Papa with his grandsons at Spring Mountain Ranch, NV. We took him out to see Red Rock Canyon as well.

When we were out at Red Rock Canyon, driving the scenic 13 mile route, we stopped at the summit. There was this cool, 2-person scooter thing you can rent. I decided to take a picture of the boys next to it, since we've never seen anything quite like it!

Ethan's Snaggle Tooth II

Well, it has happened again....Ethan lost tooth #2 on 20 Jun 2009!!! Another reminder that our little boy is growing up so fast!! :o(

He's such a trooper about it, unlike myself (Shannon) as a child. There's no blood or tears. He just...pulls it out, no big deal. This time instead of being in the car, he decided to pull it about 10 minutes after we tucked the boys into bed. Talk about strange places to pull a tooth; first the car, and then in his bed!! All I can remember as a child was being in my parent's bathroom, crying and being assisted by my dad, needle nose pliers in hand!! Yep, I said it, my dad pulled my teeth out with needle nose pliers! LOL

Slippin' and a Slidin'

Josh and I decided to buy the boys a good 'ol fashioned Slip 'n Slide...and was it worth every dollar spent! They spent 2 hours out there the first day, and had a BLAST!!!

Evan, being our go and get 'em type of boy was sliding like crazy!!!! What a ham he is at just 3 years old!

Ethan is pictured to the left, and Evan to the right.

Ethan's Snaggle Tooth!!!

Well, today was THE day...Ethan became a big boy and lost hist first tooth! In the car, nonetheless!!! I was up at the elementary school here on base picking up the girl I watch before and after school, and Ethan decided that pulling it in the car sounded good. No blood, no tears, and no pain!!!

He is SO proud of his tooth! He wanted me to take tons of pictures with him and his tooth--so cute!!! His tooth is under his pillow (or should be, though I doubt it is now), awaiting the Tooth Fairy! He doesn't seemed convinced that she is real, and had about 50 questions to ask about her that ranged from, "Does she have a job, a phone, a TV, etc." Silly boy!!!

Josh's Promotion

October 2007, Josh was promoted to Technical Sergeant. WOW, and I'm now just posting this? Well, a few reasons. One, I haven't been blogging until recently. Never have been a blogger, but I'm getting better. :o) Two, we couldn't take a camera into the promotion ceremony, so we had to rely on the professional photographer who was there. We received photo print copies, so I had to scan them in, and just ran across them today!

So here you go! What do you think? Does he make me look super short or what? Or do I make him look super tall? That's the question of the day.

And then there's the family photo...well, we had extremely squirmy boys that day, and they were NOT taking "nice" photos that day. Hence the sloppy family photo! Oh well, it's quite funny now that I look back on it, and I'm sure it will be even funnier in years to come!

Have a blessed week!

Uncle Keith

My Uncle Keith passed away one year ago today. He was only 56, and had battled cancer way back in the 70's, and then again in the late 90's. He was my Dad's oldest brother. He was my favorite uncle, and he will be missed!


I'll never forget Christmas of 2005, he had just bought his awesome Porsche 911, and was taking those who were brave enough for rides! We reached over 125MPH, and that was enough for me! But it was fun, and a memory that won't be forgotten.

OLD Stampin' Projects!!

I am NOT a consistent blogger! :o) However, I have the blogging bug today, and I'm taking yet another trip down memory lane. So here it goes: old stampin' projects that date back some 2 years ago to a few months ago. One of these days I will post some new projects, but I seem to make cards or other gifts and mail them out...but NOT take pics of them. UGH!!!

I'm also sewing some now, so once I actually finish something, I will post that too. I also am about a year overdue on finishing a scrapbook for my sister and brother-in-law. Sorry guys!! I'm not very organized, but it will get done. :o) Once that's complete and they receive it, I will post pics. It's a wedding scrapbook. I'm not a scrapbooker, and wish that I were, but I get started on a page and then get discouraged, and ultimately quit. I need some inspiration to get that book done!!!

Enjoy the pics. :o)

Old School Ranch Pics

Well, we finally got our PC that has all of our OLD photos back up and running, so I though I'd take a trip down memory lane.

Approximately two years ago, we took a trip out to Spring Mountain Ranch, the same place I blogged about a couple days ago. I remember that day like it was yesterday!! We hadn't been out here quite a year, and the desert landscape was getting...for lack of better words, depressing. I did some research and decided we needed to head out in the Red Rock Canyon area. We saw signs for Spring Mountain Ranch, and we though, hum...sounds quaint and nice. We were blown away when we got there! If you live in the Vegas area, or visit and want to get away from the heat and lack of green foliage, SMR is the place to be. As I have written before, green meadows, trees over 400 years old, a BEAUTIFUL ranch home, tons of history and more adorn this peaceful getaway--all for $5!! Take a picnic lunch with you and plenty to drink...oh, and a cozy blanket to lie out on the lush grass. It's a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas.

While out there, go inside the old ranch house and take a gander. It's pretty cool to see the inside and imagine what is was like to live out there. While inside, they offer a free movie (like 8 minutes long) on the history of the ranch. It's very interesting, and includes the history of the Paiute Indians, who first established the area.

There are several hiking trails around the area, and you just might see a few critters out there! Nothing scary, a lizard or two, beautiful wild flowers, and trees one won't normally see in the immediate Vegas area. The climate is much milder as well, though there will be days around 100 degrees in the mid-summer, it's typically 10 degrees cooler out there because it's at elevation 3800 ft. above sea level. In my opinion, 10 degrees cooler sounds awesome!!!


Well, I hope you enjoy these "old school ranch pics." Ethan is around 4 and Evan is a little over a year old. Ahhh...how cute they were (and still are), and how TIME FLIES!!!!

For more information, visit: http://parks.nv.gov/smr.htm

Have an abundantly blessed weekend! :o)

A Ranch Kinda Day

Well today the boys both had a dental appointment in Summerlin (far west Vegas), so after their checkups we drove out past Red Rock Canyon to a hidden treasure called Spring Mountain Ranch. Josh and I took the boys out there 2 years ago, and we've never been back until today--well, just the boys and I. I tell you, one would never know they were like 12 miles away from Vegas. SMR is paradise in the midst of desert terrain. There is a grass prairie, streams, tons of huge trees, wild burros, horses, a beautiful ranch house from the 1940's, and hiking trails. I felt so at peace out there, and wandered off into dreamland, imagining that we lived in that ranch house and the boys had tons of land to play on and roam freely. Anyway, it was just a dream! Sometimes it's fun to imagine what could never be!! Well, you never know, but I know that we'll never live out there since it is a Nevada State Park now, and won't be on the market in this lifetime!

My friend Andrea met us out there with her son Brayden and took some pictures with her fancy professional camera...hence the terrific photo of the boys! Thanks so much Andrea!!

I am exhausted from a long day of hiking, sun, and chasing after boys! G'night!

Prayerful

Hi friends, how does this day find you? Exhausted, prayerful, blessed, stressed, happy, sad? Not coincidentally (since today is National Day of Prayer in America), I've found this week to be bountiful with prayer. I've had some issues of my own to work on, like being more patient and seeking God's will over my own. Thankfully He doesn't give up on my stubborn self!

I'd like to ask that you guys keep a sweet lady I was acquainted with here at Nellis through Chapel and Mommy group. Her name is Tina, and her hubby Kenny is active duty Air Force. They have a son who is 4, and had a precious baby Gabi who passed away this week. She was just shy of her 5 month birthday, and she never woke up from napping. I think at this point it can be assumed SIDS was the cause of her passing. I cannot fathom anything much worse than losing a precious baby. What heartache and pain they must feel. It's times like this that I sit back and analyze my impatience with Ethan and Evan, and realize that I only have them for a short time and then they will be grown up, or who knows...maybe with the Lord. Each day is a ticking clock full of potential. How did we use this time? Did we enjoy what's most important or did we flub it away on nonsense? I'm ready to get rid of the nonsense in my life and focus on what God has blessed me with--my family and friends!

I hope this finds you prayerful, blessed, and hopeful!

**I included a pic of the boys at Red Rock Canyon this past Friday. We took and mommy and boys trip to go hike in God's creation!!! As always, a fun but tiring time followed by a trip to Whole Foods!

Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's out there!!!