The First Week of Winter Surprises

Remember what I said about a LOT of doctor appointments?!?!  Between Joe's appts for his heart, a gout attack onset, and I developed a kidney infection, life has been chaotic.  Brayden had an oral surgeon appointment to have some baby teeth pulled, and both boys had optometrist appointments.

Joe had his Invisaligners put in.

We received a lot of beautiful fruit packages from family and friends instead of flowers.  The kids loved opening these boxes.

The girls worked on a Pinball Science project in Science Club.  I think they enjoyed this project kit that I found at Costco.

Basketball season started.  The boys are now on the Adult Mens team, and the girls on the Youth team.  Two separate teams, means four days of practice every week.  Game schedule will get crazy too.

The girls had a class on how to decorate cookies with royal icing.  They really enjoyed this.

Brayden decided to want to help make lunch more.  One day we had Keto Butter chicken, which was a hit.

He proudly made his own chicken salad for lunch.  Since he is considered pre-diabetic and had to go on Metformin, he is learning to make much healthier choices.

He loved learning how to make Cashew Chicken.

Caty had a 4H event, she won this adorable stuffed bear.

Staying warm and working on her math.

Art class online

Working on children's book art....

Visiting the zoo....

I made Joe still ride in a scooter because he was only two weeks since the heart attack.  He was cleared by the cardiologist for short walks, but not long walks.

The first day of Winter brought hot chocolate pancakes and whipped cream.

Puzzles and books to enjoy!

We also got the girls tickets to see Disney's Frozen on Ice.  They were ecstatic!

Joe started a couple weeks of cardiac rehab.  Getting stronger and better!

Hope everyone had a great week!!

Life goes Upside Down

Last week our life got turned upside down.  After leaving the girls State Swim Competition, my husband suffered a massive heart attack.  We were heading to a local amusement park that is open on the weekends during the winter and he started feeling bad.  It got bad very quickly.  We pulled over and ended up calling 9-1-1 while sitting in a Target parking lot.  He was taken to a local hospital and airlifted to the closest heart center.  There he underwent emergency stint surgery.  Fortunately they were able to do the surgery through his arm.  So basic surgery recovery was easy.

The surgery went well...and he was only there a few days.  But life was definitely upside down.  This is definitely not something I thought we would be experiencing in our early 40s.  He was already making dietary and lifestyle changes prior to this happening.  In fact over a several month period we got his numbers more manageable and things seemed under control.  But now there are new restrictions and new meds that has taken  over our life as we get used to the new way of things. 

He is getting stronger.  We have had a few scares, including his stints causing arteries to spasm.  New meds have helped him tremendously, as well as going to the chiropractor to help with some joints that are out of alignment due to a lot of jostling from the ambulance and helicopter rides.   He is exercising slowly and using the new Apple watch to watch his heart during exercise. 

Very thankful for his recovery and we still have him with us.

Zondervan - Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women Review

We recently had the opportunity to review a new to us product from Zondervan.  It is called Beloved:  365 Devotions for Young Women.  What a beautiful way to inspire young girls using the Scriptures.


Our children face so much negativity in the world today.  Strong feminist views want to encourage girls to look away from the bible as an aid in their lives, since they feel the Bible does not appreciate or value women.  So to many young women, the Bible can sometimes feel like the last place to look for advice on how to handle our modern problems.  But it's really the first place we should turn.  If you are reading your Bible, you will see how women were really appreciated and valued through the  Scriptures.
  

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women is a daily scripture for young girls to look at.  In busy lives, Bible study usually gets put off and put off during the day, since it takes some time and also concentration.  I really liked how each page was short, but well-written.  Each day could be covered in a matter of just a few minutes.  

We would start with a scripture...

And then a brief, yet thorough explanation was given how a young girl could apply it in her life.  

Included are questions for thought and a few lines to make notes or write down your thoughts.

Some days Lydia would read the passages on her own and then we would discuss her thoughts and feelings.  But most days, I would sit down with the girls and we would spend 5 minutes discussing heroins of the Bible such as Naomi and Ruth.  Other examples included are Tamar, the life of Jephthah, Esther and even Paul.  

The scriptures chosen and the thoughts and feelings presented were great reminders of our God's love for all of us, men and women.  The girls were not being taught that the Bible teaches that women are second class citizens.  Instead they were reminded that women are very important to our heavenly Father.  Women were treated well in Biblical times, and those who mistreated people were not rewarded by God.  

Created for young women in their teenage to early adult years,  Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women really does want your daughter to feel important and loved.  The real world application of each scripture emphasizes these feelings.  I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to review Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women  and I definitely look forward to reading each day with the girls.

Several members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew were given the opportunity to review Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women with their families.  Visit the link below to see how they used this book in their homes and what they thought of it.