Sally Clarkson Book Collection Giveaway!!

This is such a wonderful giveaway. Be sure to pop over to Raising Homemakers and register to win. You could win all six of her fantastic books!! This contest ends on Friday, June 3rd.

http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/the-eternal-perspective-of-the-home-anniversary-day-1-plus-sally-clarkson-book-collection-giveaway/

Our babies have hatched!

If you missed my earlier post, we have mockingbirds nesting in our front yard. The nest is low enough that we can easily look in and keep an eye on their progress. I posted a picture of the nest with its four little blue speckled eggs. After watching them all week long, we finally have something new to report. Yesterday we had two babies and two eggs. Today all four babies have hatched. They are so ugly, they're cute! I'll post more pictures as they get bigger and look like something besides fuzzy blobs with big yellow beaks.

Are they cute or what?

Nature Studies from home...

Lately we've been hearing some rather interesting sounds coming from the trees around our house. We have an abundance of Periodical Cicadas that just came above ground for the first time in 13 years. The boys love them, but Haley is seriously freaked out by them. I personally think any bug that lives for 13 years is something worth learning about. Plus, they are harmless to humans. So, aside from the fact that they are HUGE, have red eyes, are VERY noisy, flying everywhere, and generally making a nuisance of themselves, they're kinda cool.

Check out this cool caterpillar that we found! He was very similar to the inch worms we're all familiar with, only much BIGGER! Ryan loves caterpillars and is fearless in picking them up. He picked this one up and played with him for a bit before sending him on his way. No idea what kind he is...

Next are our resident bluebirds which I love. Mr. Bluebird comes right up on the deck and sits on the hanger for our bird feeder. He likes to eat the cat food out of the bowl on the deck rail. This has allowed me to get some awesome close up pictures of him!

Last are the four little eggs we discovered in a tree in our front yard. They're mockingbird eggs. We've been watching them for days to see when they hatch. Mommy Mockingbird does not like us watching however!

How cool is it that we're currently studying birds? We're using Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. What a great opportunity to have some hands on learning with them so close! I'll keep you posted to see when they hatch.

First Communion Pictures

Here are some pictures from First Communion. These are just the candids that my mother took. Glen and I were rather busy most of the time making sure all 37 kids were where they were supposed to be.

Movie Review - Soul Surfer

My husband and I are celebrating our 12th anniversary this month and to celebrate, we took advantage of my mother being in town to have a date night. We went to see the movie Soul Surfer. Its the story of a young girl who is attacked by a shark and loses her arm. It chronicles her life both before and after the attack. She finds God and renews her faith after the attack. Its a very inspiring story. That said, I haven't cried that much during a movie in years! My husband even cried. Its a wonderful movie with a great message, but be prepared to cry buckets.

First Communion - We did it!

Sorry for not posting for over a week. We've been busy with First Communion practices, preparing for my mother's week and a half long visit, and then having that visit. On Saturday, May 14th, my twins (and the rest of my 35 Sunday School students) received their First Communion. It was a wonderful day and I'm so proud of them all. This is my 3rd class to prepare for Communion. This is also my last time having any of my own children in my class. Its a big accomplishment and in a way its sad to see my children grow up so fast. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get a free minute to download them to my computer.

Hold my Heart...

I do believe I've found a new favorite song. I love contemporary christian music, don't you?

Rosecommon Acres Purina Pro Plan Selects review and $100 Visa gift card giveaway!

Be sure to stop by Rosecommon Acres and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card. They are several ways to win. She also has a super cute video of her three wonderful dogs. They got a chance to review Purina Pro Plan dog food, and from all appearances, her dogs loved it!