Pumpkin time

The kids went with Daddy to the Pumpkin Patch in Conroe. Here are pics of their efforts in carving.

Birthdays

Kara had a birthday party sweep this weekend. She attended Rachelle's 5th birthday party on Sat. where they played outside games and had a scavenger hunt. On Sunday, Kara attended Maddie and Megan's 5th birthday party. They got to be pizza and dessert chefs doning aprons and hats. They had blast. The flower dessert cups were made from gumdrops, jelly beans, oreos, and Reese's peanut butter cups. They were very cute.

Monday we traveled to Tomball to the Green house where it was slime time. The kids rolled in the dirt, threw jello at each other, ate boogers, and cracked real eggs on Mike's head. They got to ride in the cart of the tractor and go down the zip line. The second story playhouse was favorite place too. The weather was cool but with the kids running around, they didn't mind.

Pumpkin pics

Chainsaws, birthday party, and heart appointments

Tomorrow the Chainsaw Gang from our church is coming over to help Albert cut up some trees on the Simpson's land and ours. The Simpsons live 3 houses down and are a retired couple in their 70s. They work really hard to keep up their 5 acres but Hurricane Ike tore up their backyard. They are in Tokyo this week so hopefully they will be pleasantly surprised by the effort tomorrow.
At 11am Kara will be attending Rachelle's birthday party. She has asked all week when it was going to be.
Also tomorrow, Krissy goes for her cardiologist appointment.

Pumpkin Patch in Conroe

Today Albert took the kids to our first Homewood Assoc. field trip. This is our co-op that we joined that is out of The Woodlands. The Parks and Lackeys are members as well. The kids had a great time and Albert got to meet another home school dad who is also youth minister.

Latest Hernandez news...

The Holidays are upon us. Pumpkins and Fall festival, Halloween costumes, birthday parties, turkey dinner. I really want to get a unit study in this year on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've ordered a lot of books from the library on Thanksgiving. I guess I'm going with the historic aspect on it.
Please keep me in your prayers. I have been sick since Monday afternoon and today I finally went to the doctor and confirmed my guess that I have bronchitis. I have my first inhaler. I was thankful but not happy with my natural immune system.
The kids went to Club Explore (which they love) and learned about the Sahara Desert. Corinne wore a traditional African dress ( I sure wish we could wear those here) for the occasion. She is an awesome teacher. I get great reports from the Kids and they actually tell me what they learned about.
Tomorrow is the Pumpkin Patch time at 7 Acre Wood in Conroe with the Homewood Home School Association. This will be our first event. The Dr. told me to cancel any plans I had for the weekend and rest. I know they will have tons of fun.

Bible Study

Just wanted to share about the blessings of the Bible study I'm involved in. We are studying the book of John chapter by chapter, verse by verse. If you are drawn to that type of study, take this as your invitation! We meet every other Monday night from 6:45-8:30 pm. Dinner and dessert is provided by the hostess and co-leader Rhonda. She and her friend Kori, share with us an overview and then everyone is welcome to comment on what they've learned. Each week we have had new guests and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. Our next meeting is October 27 at 6:45pm. Please let me know if you are interested in attending. There is always an open seat :)

Another Wonderful Week

We are in the swing of things around here that's for sure. Monday, began with exercise at the Y. Corinne, Katherine and I tried the Morning Mix class. She came from the 90's describes our instructor. She had us doing all sorts of things. It was kinda crazy.
Afterwards, we home schooled. Christian begins his reading lesson while I work with Ethan and Kara on Sing, Spell, Read, and Write. They sing songs and practice saying the letters phonicallly. I then work individually with the two little ones with the Hooked on Phonics program. They complete worksheets related to the letter of the week. I then spend time with Christian going over our English lesson and any questions he had over reading. The little ones play alphabet bingo, or put a puzzle together. Christian plays bingo with them or Boggle. After lunch and recess, we do History: Ancient Civilizations together as well as a book that we read for the week. We cover different topics based on the book. The two little ones either finish working on worksheets or read/rest or play. Christian and I work on dictation together which is from Proverbs. I read outloud a verse from Proverbs and he must write down what I said. I underline the misspelled words and he must look them up in the dictionary.

Five in a Row

We are using a literature based curriculum called Five in a Row. It is designed for newbies like us to use literature readily available at the local library. Most of the selections are award winners. Suggestions are made to incorporate many subject areas such as art, geography, math and social studies. "Five in a row" means we read the book 5 consecutive days covering a new area each day. The kids love it! This week we have read "Make Way for Ducklings"by Robert McClowesky. Today, our final day to read it, we took turns orally presenting a time in which patient, preparation was required to do something. I shared with the kids about my drivers ed experience at 15. Kara told us about riding Shorty without a saddle. Ethan, our comedian, was too silly with his presentation and had to sit down. Christian showed us with a shoe, how he learned to tie his shoes. It was quite relevant for his audience because they both need this instruction! It was fun. I hope the video turned out.

Vein Procedure

This morning I had my 5th vein procedure. I am wrapped up like a mummy again and its not Halloween yet. My dear Husband and Kids took me to the appointment and when they picked me up I received flowers :) They then took me to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. We had a great time. When we got home, I took a long nap. I practiced my guitar when I woke up. Albert ordered pizza from Brother's Pizza for dinner and they are in the kitchen now making bird feeders.

On Santa Claus and movies

We were discussing a Goodtime video on Frosty the Snowman. Goodtime makes knock off version of classic stories. My goddaughter, Krissy, when she was little and I was watching her, told me to get her Snow White with long hair video. I knew Snow White didn't have long hair so I was at loss to find it . I brought her the Disney one and she was getting frustrated with me. She came storming in the room and picked it right up. "Aunt Christie, I said Snow White with LONG HAIR!!" So I am well aware now of the difference in the versions.
Anyway, back to Frosty. Apparently, this version has some scary, magical elements. The boys brought it down to us to review. Kara called it the evil video. She asked if she could watch the "evil video" because she like the princess in it. The boys countered that we hadn't seen it yet. Kara concluded that we should "sell it to the devil" if it were evil, because he would like evil movies." What do you say to that! I guess her mind was still in the Christmas mode because of Frosty so she then said, "we shouldn't call Santa a fatty." Ethan responded, "Santa's dead", in a matter-of-fact kinda way. Albert reminded him that Saint Nickolas was real and that he did good things and gave good gifts to children. Ethan responded again, "but he's dead."

Prayer Requests

Please pray for my godson, Tyler Nichols. He is having eye surgery tomorrow. He is having the same type Ethan had. Please pray for success and for his vision to be at 100%.

Please continue to pray for his sister, Krissy, she met with a cardiologist who confirmed the branch block condition. He will be running a full cardiac workup on her within the next week or so.

Casie Howard, the young girl who had the double lung transplants is doing better. She is off the venilator and is hoping to be moved to a new, less intense area of the hospital tomorrow. It has been a blessing for me to pray for her even though we've never met.

Ken Davis' surgery went well. He is recovering and will receive chemo treatments in the following weeks. He owns his own business so please keep him and his wife, Barbara in your prayers as they feel the financial strain related to the cancer.

Please pray for my friend Shelly's mother-in-law. She has been hospitalized and there is a strain amongst family members at the same time.

Please pray for me as I face a multiple vein procedure in both legs on Friday morning. It will be a painful few days (I've had this done before).

Please pray for the Patten family as they bury Sandy on Sat. Pray for those who would attend to receive God's saving grace during this time of grief.

Watch out deer, it's bow hunting season!!

Albert is a Naval Reservist so he has free hunting priviledges. He got his old bow and outfitted it with a site and string puller. He got some arrows and some sharp tips. He and Ethan spent the afternoon practicing with a hay bale target. They had fun. I can't wait to get some venison in my freezer:)

Catching up

I spoke tonight to my dear friend in Hawaii, Elaine Wong. We got to catch up with each other's lives. Her son, Aaron, is a policeman in San Bruno, CA. It has been quite awhile since we have seen them. They visited us in San Antonio when Aaron was leaving the Army back in 2003. She is doing great and still employed at Jerry Hay, Inc., where I use to work for her. Blessings to you, Elaine :)

Update on Krissy

I spoke with her this morning. She is feeling less dizzy and has been resting. Her appointment is at 2:30 on Monday. Please continue to pray for her.

Club Explore

The kids have been attending a class on Thursday that is in Conroe. My friend, Corinne, is one of the teachers. It is a unit study over the continents. This past Thursday, they studied India. Here are some pics from it taken by Corinne. She has been such a wonderful friend taking them to the class for me. Thanks again, Corinne!

Prayer Requests & updates

Wow!! Lots of prayers going up today! Let's start with praises:

Casie Howard survived a double lung transplant. She is 48 hrs. out of surgery and doing well. Praise Him!
Cody Centilli is on his way home from a tonsillectomy at TX Children's and is doing great. It was so cute to hear Christian pray with him on the phone and Ethan called Justin at Natalie's and prayed for him.

Concerns:
Ken Davis went for surgery today for melanoma. The cancer is on his arm above the elbow. Scans and test show that it is confined to that location. Please continue to pray for he and Barbara.

My heart is heavy for this one. My beloved, goddaughter, Krissy who is 17, was taken to the ER after complaining of dizziness and actually passed out at school. Test show she has bundle branch block, a condition in which there's a delay or obstruction along the pathway that electrical impulses travel to make your heart beat. She will go to see a cardiologist Monday. She has a family history of heart disease and her grandmother, a long time heart patient died in her 50's and her father had a heart heart in his early 30's. Please pray for answers and healing.