FINALLY GETTING AROUND TO MY BLOG!

Life has been really busy lately, so I've had to put this on the back burner. I started a post about a week ago, but struggled with uploading my pictures, so I gave up. Dinner is in the oven. The house is mostly cleaned for Bible study tonight. Cranberry cheescake bars are made for tonight and Myah is folding socks for me. I have about 2 minutes to catch up! So, here is a quick update on what's been going on in my head....and our lives!

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE HUNT!
This past weekend we kept the tradition alive of traveling to Red Lodge for our annual Christmas tree hunt. We trudged through the National Forest and finally chose a small "charlie brown" Christmas tree to take home. We always go on the weekend they are having their Christmas stroll, so we can enjoy the later shopping times and all the free goodies they hand out. This is one of my favorite days of the year every year! Hopefully I can get some pictures on here eventually!

NEW HOMESCHOOL IDEAS THANKS TO A NEW FRIEND!
Met another homeschool mom through some friends of ours and though we live in different states and have only known each other less than a week via e-mail, I feel like we already have become very close friends. We have a TON in common, only she's about 3 years ahead of me in life. I've been having some frustrations lately, and it's always nice to have someone who's "been there and done that" to talk things through with. She gave me oodles of new websites and resources to check out for homeschool. I plan to pass those along in a later post because they have already been SO helpful to me and maybe someone out there could also benefit from them. I've been trying to really focus on what methods God is calling me to use with our family and how to incorporate what I feel He's showing me amidst our very busy scheule. We've already implemented many new ideas, adding daily lessons on character and also we have started a new thing called "notebooking", which Myah thoroughly loves, and Joel can do already as well. (More on that later, hopefully!) Now I just need to wait for a little extra cash to order a few more goodies! :)

PUTTING OUR HOUSE UP FOR SALE?????
Still trying to figure out how I feel about this one. I have mixed feelings, but after the holidays, we plan to pur our house on the market, if all goes well. I'm sad because this is "home" and has been for over 3 years, and though we are outgrowing it desperately, I love this house! I am also very excited, however, because this means a new chapter of our lives is beginning. This next chapter will include a ton of work, but in the long run, will be a wonderful change for our family. The house we are buying is on 42 acres, and we were just out there this past weekend to take some family photos, and I just loved it. There were pheasant and fox tracks in the front yard, and we scared up 8 white-tail deer from the fields as we were walking. The rabbits were everywhere and it was so peaceful. We just have a lot of work to do to even get that house livable!

LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR TRIP HOME
We plan to leave in about 2 weeks. I'm excited to see everyone, especially my grandpa, who was recently in the hospital. I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with the people we love! Just wish I could snap my fingers and be there instead of spending 23 hours on the road to get there!

ABOVE RUBIES
Just got a some new magazines and can't put them down. (Which is bad becuase I've been staying up way too late reading them!) If you haven't checked these out yet, you NEED to! Very encouraging stuff for families!