Enjoying the Chaos

Random Five Friday 1. My oldest daughter passed away when she was three. This last Wednesday she would have been 18. I can't believe it has been that long. However I am a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and my faith in Jesus Christ has made it possible for me to bear this grief. 2. We are reviewing science4us Little J is using it every day and he loves it - Review coming soon! 3. I had a crazy headache last night. I was feeling fine and then suddenly my neck and head hurt and I felt sick. I joked with my husband that it was the 'fish' he cooked for lunch (it's not my favorite, but we are trying to be healthier). 4. I can't believe tomorrow is February. The kids want to host a Valentines Party. School parties is the only thing they miss from our public school days. Even though I tell Jam he wouldn't have them anymore as he is too old. Me it seems like a lot of work...hum what to do. 5. I have never taught a child to re...

I wanted to share an exciting giveaway with you. I love handmade items and I wanted to share this new Etsy shop with you. Don't forget to enter the giveaway on the Rafflecopter entry form below. The Blacksmith Meet Noah.   "I live in Virginia on a small farmish piece of land with my wife and children. We are trying to live completely off this piece of God's creation. So we live here, grow our food here, teach our children here and now work here. The Items we create here are aesthetically pleasing and intentionally useful. A picture is nice but it is even better when it covers a hole in your wall. I enjoy reworking things considered worthless, making them beautiful and useful again!" ~ Noah V.   NV Able Items Noah creates all of his beautiful creations by hand, in his shop, located in Southwestern Virginia. Blacksmithing has always been a passion of his. Developing work from discarded materials continue to provide him with new challenges and a se...

My oldest daughter would be 18 today.  We miss her everyday. ©2011-2014 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com

Make sure to enter this awesome Purex Giveaway by clicking  here . The Crystals Fresh Mountain Breeze Sweepstakes! Enter to win a mountain of cash!   Purex®   Crystals Mountain Breeze at the start of the wash directly with your laundry detergent and take the freshness of your laundry to a whole new level! ©2011-2014 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com

Happy Friday :) I think the first week back after a vacation is the hardest. I am SO glad that it is Friday. 1. I have a new goal of going on the treadmill 3x a week. My old goal was 5x and it may seem like a backward step but with my schedule I never seemed to succeed with the 5 days - any only ended up with 3 or 4 so I figured instead of failing each week I would be more positive. 3 days - goal and I feel successful. 2. I heard about a cool website this morning and I have to share it. It's called Paper Rater   and it looks really cool. I haven't tried it yet but it looks like an excellent website. The major bonus is that it is FREE and you must know by now how much I love free. Talking about school we are making our transition back to Ambleside - Charlotte Mason based education the kids have been SO excited this week. It's funny when we started homeschooling this was the method I chose, and the kids did a lot of moaning. After taking a break, using Easy Peasy All in ...

  Selfie in Mexico ©2011-2014 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com

While I was in Mexico last week it seemed so easy to use some of the few Spanish phrases that I know. I even learnt a few new ones. However now I have been home for 6 days it has all gone. So I have decided for the sake of my Spanish education I need to return. Of course the beaches, warmth, amazing food, and the amazing time with my husband and parents have nothing (ha ha) to do with my decision. I would however have to take the kids with me this time. Jam would have loved all the information our amazing tour guide Eric told us about Tulum (he loves History of any kind). All the information about the Mayan civilization would have thrilled him. Let alone the 'unlimited food and soft drinks' they would have consumed at the resort. However this is an unrealistic goal. So instead I will have to get out the Spanish CD's. I was also speaking to my library and they have a new online (FREE) language resource I am going to check out. So that will have to do...for now :) ©...

Enter Today | 1/20 - 2/8! Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher  is celebrating her newest book,  The Calling ,  by giving away TWO iPads, TWO Kindles, and TWO Nooks!   Two grand prize winners will receive: An iPad The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher Four second place winners will receive: A Kindle Fire HDX or a Nook HD—winner's choice! The Letters  and  The Calling  by Suzanne Woods Fisher Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 8th.  All winners will be announced February 10th at Suzanne's blog . Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Suzanne's blog on the 10th to see if you won one of the great prizes! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!) You all know by now that I love Amish fiction. The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher didn't disappoint. When I agreed to ...

I received this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. I chose this book to share with my 5 year old. We read it in one sitting and he sat through it and said he liked it when we finished. Willie is a Walrus who leaves his home searching for adventure. This book talks about being the best you can be and being brave enough to stand up to others.    Little J enjoyed it but he has never asked me to read it again. ©2011-2013 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com

Random Five Friday 1. I have spent the last 7 days in Mexico - kid less. It was awesome. My husband liked that I had the time to make sure he was reapplying his sunscreen for a change. 2. My kids spent a week with my sister and her family. My niece who normally homeschools by herself as she is the youngest thought it was awesome to have so many kids in the house during the week. 3. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya the hotel was very nice. My parent's were a little shocked however because the last time they went it was not owned by Hard Rock and they were told there would not be many changes. There were a lot of changes - and not all for the better according to my Mom and Dad and a lot of other people we met during our stay. The ' Heaven ' side of the hotel has been painted an AWFUL blue color, and was under major construction while we were there (luckily) we stayed on the Hacienda side which seemed a lot more suitable and less under construction. Howeve...

We don't do sleepovers except with family. Tonight we are all sleeping the my sister's house. It is such fun. Little J gets the place of honor next to me on the sofa. With Jam on the other size of my husband. We are sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Boo is in her cousins room ...they are 8 weeks apart and have been giggling for the last 2 hours. Grandma and Grandpa are in my niece's room (she's away at college). It's fun to have so many of us under one roof...it's a shame my sister is working.

About the Book-   Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past. Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch’s daughter. Though he’s initially wary of Julia Midwinter’s reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul–and hidden sorrows of her own. Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master–a man her mother would never approve of–but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec’s help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village…and to her mother’s tattered heart? Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and...

Best-selling author Julie Klassen will be hosting a Kindle Fire HDX giveaway and a live webcast event (1/23) to celebrate the release of her latest novel, The Dancing Master .  Enter and RSVP today!     One winner will receive: A Kindle Fire HDX The Dancing Master  by Julie Klassen Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on January 23rd. Winner will be announced at the "All Things Jane (from Austen to Eyre)" Live Webcast Event on January 23rd .  Connect with Julie for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Julie will also be taking questions from the audience and giving away books, Jane Austen DVDs, fun "Jane" merchandise, and gift certificates throughout the evening. So grab your copy of The Dancing Master and join Julie and friends on the evening of January 23rd for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!) Do...

Enter Today - 1/4 - 1/14! I love to read, and historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I was recently sent a copy of  Carolina Gold to read from Lif use Publicity Books and I can tell you straight away it did not disappoint. This was the first time I had read a book written by Dorothy Love and I really enjoyed her writing style. About the Book The war is over, but her struggle is just beginning. Charlotte Fraser returns to her late father's once-flourishing rice plantation on the Waccamaw River, determined to continue growing the special kind of rice known as Carolina Gold. But Fairhaven Plantation is in ruins, the bondsmen are free, and money is scarce. To make ends meet, Charlotte reluctantly accepts a position as tutor to the young daughters of Nicholas Betancourt, heir to the neighboring Willowood Plantation. Then Nick's quest to prove his ownership of Willowood sends Charlotte on a dangerous journey that reveals an old family mystery---a...

The New Year is a time of evaluating. Looking back at where we have been and what we have done and looking forward to the future. I am sure if we take a look back at our lives there are things we would have done differently - hindsight is a wonderful thing. However I also know that the choices we make and the experiences we have make us who we are. Thinking about this reminded me of a poem I read at school, then again with Boo. The Road Not Taken Robert Frost TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,      And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood   And looked down one as far as I could      To where it bent in the undergrowth;               Then took the other, as just as fair,         And having perhaps the better claim,        Because it was gr...

Don't miss Dorothy Love 's latest historical novel,  Carolina Gold . Fun news: The release of Carolina Gold coincides with Dorothy's birthday . Celebrate with her by entering the  Southern Essentials Giveaway and RSVPing to her Facebook party on January 14th!   Between January 3–14, visit Dorothy Love's Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win the $100 Visa Cash Card grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 14th! (Don't have a Facebook account? Enter here. ) RSVP today for Dorothy's  Carolina Gold  Author Chat Party on Facebook . During the party Dorothy will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills, announcing the winner of the Southern Essentials Giveaway, and giving away books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she'll also be giving partygoers an exclusive look at her next book! So grab your copy of Carolina Gold  and help Dorothy celebrate her bir...

 Random 5 Friday Jan 3 2013 1. Christmas and New Year are over for another 300+ days. I miss how the tree looked in our living room. My husband and I mentioned yesterday how dull it looks without all of the lights and twinkle. 2. Every Christmas when the family gets together we do skits. Every family has to participate. Only my sister and her husband seem to get away with it...well mainly because they are not here every year. However my brother's oldest son was not able to make it this year and their skit was videoed before hand so he could still participate. It was awesome and we all decided that my Sister and her husband can participate now (even if they are on the other side of the country. I am hoping to get a copy of my brother's to share. It was a Monty Python skit Ministry of Funny Walks - You can see the original skit below. There's was adapted a little of course so that all of their family could participate. They even managed to include their baby. ...

I have a new goal for this year. I have decided to participate in a 1st day link up. I want to do this for me, it's a great way to keep a record of my family. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope I can do it every month. It will be a fun to look back on in years to come.   ©2011-2013 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com