Fruitbearers

1. My husband got a new job with a new work schedule (getting every other Friday off). 2. We’ve been volunteering/serving with ISI (International Students, Inc.) and hosting game nights for the international students from a local university. 3. My brother finally received his green card and was able to come to America after waiting for over 10 years. 4. We had a fabulous 5 day vacation at Sunriver in Bend. 5. My husband and I celebrated our 16 th anniversary and our "Half-a-Billion Second" Anniversary ! 6. My daughter won a Playstation 2 from mathmovesu.com, 2 $100 Barnes & Noble gift cards from Pixlit.net, and $10 gift certificate to the Old Schoolhouse Store & publication on their next year’s Father’s Day issue from a Tribute to My Dad writing contest . 7. My middle son won a Haiku contest . 8. My youngest son won 1 st prize (a sweater valued at $39.98) at a local Barnes & Noble’s guessing contest and 1 st prize ($25 Target gift card) on a colorin

We had a white Christmas!  The snow was a very nice surprise.  I don’t know if my kids were more excited about the snow or about the presents . Another surprise is not so nice.  I got Strep throat (just found out today).  However, I am so thankful that I was well enough on Monday to have a wonderful Christmas Eve with my family and others at my mother-in-law’s house.  I kept feeling weaker and totally exhausted by the end of the day (started to have high fever).  The Lord gave me enough strength to enjoy Christmas with my family at home yesterday with lots of bedrest in between.  Today, my throat hurts so bad that I can hardly talk.  Swallowing causes me excruciating pain.  I got antibiotics now so I should be getting better soon.  I am so glad that CHRISTmas is all about CHRIST.  We can rejoice at our Savior’s birth and His redemption even when unpleasant surprises may come our way.   Because of my extremely painful sorethroat, I have been mute most of the time today

Janne at Janne’s Jabberwocky is having a contest which is part of  the HomeschoolEstore ’s 12 Blogs of Christmas Promotion.  Since I already posted about one of my favorite CHRISTmas memories, I will just repost it here .   When my daughter was 8 years old, she made this card at Christmastime. Inside she wrote, "Thank You for giving us the Bible.  I am glad You came to die for my sins.  Thank You so much.  Thank You for always answering my prayers.  Thank You for giving me loving, caring Christian parents.  Thank You for all the wonderful things You’ve given me.  Thank You for all Your love for me."  On the back of the card, she drew (in pencil) a picture of Jesus on the cross.  I just love how she poured her heart into that special card for Jesus!  Very precious to me .

1. How many children do you have / homeschool?      I have 3 precious blessings and I am blessed to be able to homeschool all of them. 2. How long have you been homeschooling?      I have been homeschooling for over 9 years. 3. Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school?      My younger two boys have always been homeschooled.  My oldest girl went to (half-day)kindergarten and a few months of the second grade at a public school.     4. Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation?      Yes, Lord willing. 5. Do you belong to a co-op?      Yes. 6. Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule?      We take every other Friday off (because that’s when my husband is off).  We also take holiday breaks and summer break (about 2 months).  7. Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials?     We use variety of resources including tons of great, wholesome books, Christian textbooks, unit studies, gam

Last night, we went to a nearby church to see "The Christmas Post," a musical comedy based on illustrations of Norman Rockwell, written by Deborah Craig-Claar and Robert Sterling.  We enjoyed it.  We had lots of laughs .  A friend and her boys were in the play and they did a great job.  After the play, I picked up a free handout near the door that is thought-provoking.  It is a Christmas version of the Love chapter:-                                                                                                           If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.           If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.           If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and gi

Tiany is hosting Holiday Open House 2007 .  This is a fun opportunity to make friends and share ideas.  I’m so glad you stop by here.   Welcome!  Please make yourself at home and enjoy a peek into our life during Christmastime .  Please join us in celebrating Christ’s birth!  Relax and rejoice! On Friday, our family went to a Christmas tree farm nearby. Our hunting-for-the perfect Christmas tree journey lasted for about 2 hours.  We finally did find a perfect tree (all 5 of us voted "yes") . The kids excitedly helped put our ornaments on the tree.  Ornaments we use either represent the true meaning of Christmas or are meaningful family keepsakes (eg. ones that the kids have made, ones that are custom-made for the kids mostly given by their grandma, ones that have the kids’ pictures, etc.) We have cherished our family traditions.  Please click here and here to read a few of them.  Every year…a few days before Christmas, we make yummy goodies and then give them t

A Taiwanese student whom we know through serving with ISI invited us to see her sing in the choir tonight.  The concert featured Pacific University Concert Choir and Pacific University Chamber Singers.  The program included Ubi caritas (composed by James Biery), Evening Song (composed by Zoltan Kodaly), Ave Maria , The Weather Song , Dona Nobis Pacem from "Missa Solemnis" (these three composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), The Forest of Loo (composed by Lee Ann Dresser), Three Motets: Jubilate Deo , Super Flumina Babylonis , & Sicut Cervus (composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Vier Quartette Op. 92: O Schone Nacht , Spatherbst , Abendlied , & Warum (composed by Johannes Brahms, A Good Night (composed by Timothy Stevens), Walking on the Green Grass (composed by Michael Hennagin), Blow the Candles Out (arranged by Greg Smith), and I’m a Long Time Traveling (arranged by David Nelson Miller).  Awesome voices…skilled pianists, flute players, dynamic

We went to our local library today to return some books and pick up the books that were being held for us.  While we were checking out those books, a librarian handed me a brown envelope addressed to the library from Department of Environmental Quality.  I was dumbfounded ; why was she giving it to me?  I carefully opened the envelope and took out a flat item.  To my astounding surprise, it was a bookmark that my daughter made when she was 4 1/2 years old!!  She won the first prize at a bookmark design contest at the local library.  At that time, the library produced many of her bookmarks to give out to patrons.  We took several and laminated them.  The one in the envelope was one of those we laminated because it had her name and age written on the back (my handwriting).  I think we gave some to friends and relatives.  Oh…I forgot to mention that there’s a sticky note attached to the bookmark saying, "Found in a Spanish book 10/29/07.  Thought you might like it.&quo

Today it was very windy here.  How windy?  Let me show you what happened on our deck :).  We had a big umbrella open above our glass picnic table.  This afternoon I heard a loud noise while I was upstairs.  I came down and looked out the back sliding glass door and this is what I saw: Yep, the glass was completely shattered and the umbrella was blown to the roof of our toolshed…all folded neatly .  Well, we had a windy day today.  How was your day?

Below are some of the poems written by my 8 year old son (now 9):- Cinquain Tornado dark, powerful destroying, traveling, twisting so exciting to watch Twister Haiku Bear is a mammal Bears can be very fearsome Bears can be cuddly Acrostic poem F all is a time when leaves fall off trees A ll of the leaves turn to beautiful colors   L ots of leaves flutter to the ground L eaves are then ready for raking Acrostic poem F lowery L ovely beaches O ranges R ain I nternational Worm Fiddling Contest D own tip A tlantic Ocean Quatrain I want to go hiking everyday Because I enjoy God’s creation I like the animals and plants Hiking is lots of fun Noun Verse       Oregon beautiful, forested raining, snowing     My state Tanka             Oregon big forests in green meadows in bright profusion high desert in bloom rivers flowing clear and blue ocean waves crash on the shore Sonnet The forest is nice in summer’s delight The forest is great in win

Last night, we hosted another game night for the international students.  We invited our homeschool friends to join us, too.  We were introduced to 2 new students from South Korea.  We had a delightful time playing foosball, Apples to Apples, Whoonu, and Charades.  We’re so glad that they felt at home here and that we helped ease their homesickness a bit.  One of the students told us more than once that spending time with our family made her so happy.  They all love our kids .  Speaking of our kids, after the church service tonight…as we were leaving, someone (we don’t know her) came to tell us that she’s so impressed with how well-behaved our kids were.  How true 1Timothy 4:12 is!!!  Today we had a birthday party for our two birthday boys (see the Wordless Wednesday post on Oct. 10th).  The weather was beautiful so we played games outside.  We played Jelly Bean Hunt, Bean Counter Relay, Broken Down Car Race, and Rocket Launching.  Instead of a traditional birthday

Yesterday, we stopped by the local Barnes & Noble store.  They were having a contest: guessing how many peppers were in the glass jar sitting on a table there.  The first prize was a sweatshirt and the second prize was a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card.  We enjoy playing this kind of game (estimating).  All five of us wrote our own guesses on the entry forms.  Later when we were home, we received a phone call notifying us that our youngest son (5.98 years old) won the first prize!  There were 95 peppers in the jar and his guess was 96.  A minute later the phone rang…and the same lady who just called, said that our daughter (14 years old) won the second prize!  Her guess was 91.  Wow…we were so astonished .  I think that lady was, too ; she couldn’t help laughing when she called the second time because it just dawned on her that she was calling the same number again!  We are so proud of our kiddos.  They are great guessers.   In January, my daughter also won a $10

Our heart is for missions & evangelism, and we seek opportunities to accomplish the Great Commission.  We believe in "going", "sending", "praying", and "sharing the Gospel whereever we are."  While we are not able to "go" to the unreached areas yet, we pray and we support native missionaries in those areas through organizations like Gospel for Asia and evangelical outreaches like Jesus Film project .  We live near a university and we had always hoped to find an opportunity to share Christ’s love with international students there.  We’ve longed for this great opportunity to present the Gospel to many who may have never heard it and who can go back to their countries and be witnesses for the Lord.  That opportunity finally arrived!  Through Mission Connexion NW…we discovered and joined ISI (International Students, Inc., a Christian organization that focuses on friendship evangelism reaching out to international students).

I love my dad! I think he’s wonderful. Let me explain. My dad loves the Lord and strives to do His will. He tells others about the Gospel. He has shared his faith with his coworkers and others. He also loves me, my mom, and my brothers unconditionally. He shows it in his words and actions. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Dad would die for us. My dad truly cares for us and about us. Not only does he care for us physically but spiritually as well. He does his best to answer our questions about the Bible and God, etc. He is also not afraid to admit when he doesn’t know something. He’s humble. He teaches us to always trust in God . I enjoy spending time with my dad. He plays sports with us and teaches us how to play better. He’s our personal coach. He has also taught me piano. My dad has a great ear for music. One of my favorite things to do is watching movies alone with my dad. My dad has a gre

This is a way of record-keeping for me.  We’re so thankful to the Lord for another year of homeschooling.  All kids : Bible Study/Prayer Time : Bible/memorization                                             Foundations                                            You Can Change the World Volume 1 and Volume 2 Character-building : A Child’s Book of Character Building Book 1 and Book 2                                  A Child’s First Book of Virtues                    Others: The World of Tools and Technology (Great Science Adventures Series)               Unit study on 50 States using various resources and games               Science experiments using various resources                Postcard exchange with people from other states and countries                Package exchange with other homeschoolers around the world               Chess Club Our daughter (13 yo then) : Math : Saxon Algebra 1 Accounting : LifePac Accounting Grammar and Composition : A Beka Grammar and Com

Tiany  is hosting a Homeschool Open House from Aug. 1st to Aug. 15th.  Please visit her site for details.  What a wonderful opportunity this is to encourage one another and learn from one another in our homeschooling journey/adventure!  Welcome, everybody, to Children of Light Christian Academy!  " For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light  (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord ."  Ephesians 5:8-10  Who are we?  We’re Christ-centered, Bible-based, mission-minded, family-bonding, character-building, & life-long learning homeschoolers.  We cherish our togetherness; we enjoy learning and growing together as the Lord leads us.  Last year, I wrote a post about why we homeschool . We home school our three precious blessings : 14 year old daughter , 8 year old son , and 5 year old son.  We have been homeschooling for over 8 years now.  We mi

Today, my little girl turns 14!  Fourteen years ago, this precious blessing came into the world prematurely (about 5 weeks early).  She weighed only 4 lbs. 5 1/2 oz.  She had to stay in the hospital for 18 days before we could bring her home.  Those days were the most difficult 18 days of my life.  My husband and I were so excited about our first baby but saddened at the same time because we couldn’t have her with us and her health was unstable.  We prayed and prayed for her and we visited her everyday.  It was terribly difficult and heart-wrenching when we had to leave her at the end of each day.  However, we knew the whole time that she was in God’s hand (the best place to be)!  We’re so very thankful that the Lord has been graciously blessing and protecting our daughter.  If you see her today, you will never guess that she was born prematurely.  She’s healthy and quite tall.  What a blessing she has been to all who get to know her!!!  She loves the Lord with all her he

When my beloved husband got home today, he had a surprise for me!  He gave me a hand-made card that says "Happy 500,000,000 Second Anniversary!!!!!" on the front and has a beautiful & meaningful poem (that he wrote) inside.  Wow…it has been (now…more than) half a billion seconds since that afternoon on our wedding day.  Last year in June, he also surprised me with another unique anniversary . He is so sweet, loving, and thoughtful.  Once he told me that he always wanted to treat me like a queen.  Indeed, he has been doing just that.  I am probably a spoiled queen .  I am extremely blessed to be his wife/best friend!  Not a second too soon Not a moment too late The Lord brought us together By His love and His grace (This is the first 4 lines of his poem (I won’t post the rest because it’s something special just between him and me ).

For the past several years, every Father’s Day…we have gone up to Washington to visit my husband’s dad and his wife.  Yesterday, we continued our tradition: our annual Father’s Day cookout at their place.  My husband’s sister and his niece & nephew (his brother’s kids) were there, too.  We had a big feast and had a great time playing badminton and volleyball.  We also enjoyed playing a board game called "Clever Endeavor."  You try to guess from clues what the answer might be.  Sometimes we were clueless even after many clues were given ! We ended our Father’s Day by taking our kids to play miniature golf at Bullwinkles before heading home.  It’s always lots of fun to spend time with our fabulous father/daddy (my dear husband).

A Father is the able hand That fixed your broken toy, The arms that used to lift you up And fill your heart with joy. He’s the voice that often taught you The meaning of respect Or coached you when you threw the ball And gently would correct. He’s the shoulder you could lean on, The eyes that saw you through, The back that you would ride upon, The feet that walked with you. He’s the heart of a Heavenly Father, Whose love can know no end; A reflection of Divine Teacher, True Mentor and Best Friend.                                             ~ Anonymous " He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge ." Proverbs 14:26 " The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him ." Proverbs 20:7 Happy Father’s Day to my beloved husband, the best…the coolest… the greatest daddy in the world!!!!!!!  He is truly a man after God’s own heart and his (our) children are exceedingly blessed.

This weekend is "Free Fishing Weekend" in Oregon.  It allows the public to fish, clam, or crab anywhere in Oregon without a fishing license or tag.  Today we took the kids to Henry Hagg Lake to fish.  It was raining all day but we had a great time.  We are true Oregonians .  There’s a saying, "A woman who has never seen her husband fishing doesn’t know what a patient man she married!"  Well, now I can say, "A mom who has never seen her kids fishing doesn’t know what patient kids she raised!" :)  They were so thrilled when fish bit and tugged and they got to reel in real wiggling fish.  This is the first fish my 8 year-old son caught but we let it go because it’s too small.  Isn’t it so cute? Later he got a beautiful rainbow trout… Then my 13 year-old daugther got one. Well, the Lord wanted to bless all three kids so He helped my 5 year-old son catch one, too. We all enjoyed eating delicious fresh fish dish for dinner.  The wonderful aro