Christmas Party

The kids celebrated at their Explore Club class. They got to dress up in an outfit from the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Kara wore a Princess Jasmine dress, Ethan was a karate kid from Japan, and Christian was a dragon from China.

Snow, snow, snow

What a wonderful surprise! It snowed in southeast TX!! We had lots of fun. The kids were so excited they ate snow off of the dirty car...

Hannah's 6th Birthday

Last night Kara and I attended Hannah's kitty party. The girls and one boy got to have whiskers and a tail. They chased yarn to find a mouse, they licked ice cream from a bowl like cats, and they played pin the tail on the cat. They had lots of fun. Corinne had the cutest strawberries decorated as mice for dessert. We had a great time.

Semester overview

How quickly time flies when you are having fun! Home schooling has been an amazing adventure so far. Teaching Ethan was a challenge in the beginning but now it brings so much joy! He is totally getting his letters and sounds. He wants to move forward and longs for his reward-his own library card. Christian's spelling has improved 110%. He was already a great speller but his vocabulary has increased and he can spell knowledge and rarely misses a word. He enjoys everything he learns. He is a natural student. Kara wants to cuddle and sit in my lap and willingly tries whatever I ask of her. She has an amazing mastery of her sounds and can identify her letters quickly. She loves competing with Ethan. Ethan tries hard to stay ahead of her. The competition is getting him to stay on task! I am so thankful the Lord called me to this. My fear of not getting things done around here has not been realized. The kids are sorting laundry, putting things away and swapping loads for me. They sweep and wipe down the table. They work together to get upstairs clean. The cooperation in our family has been delightful to experience. We are less busy and are more peaceful. With Albert graciously helping to teach them math and science I still have two or three days a week to do ministry, go to appointments, and go grocery shopping. The Lord has truly rewarded our meager efforts in all this.

1st Annual Pie in Your Face Day

Christian has always wanted to throw pies. Two years ago at Salem VBS the director and Praise Pastor got pie in the face if the missions goal was reached that week. Well, he thought that was the most hilarious thing he had ever seen. He brought it up again so we decided to make it an event. Albert bought Cool Whip for the occasion. They had a blast. Christian stayed aloof to avoid being smashed but Daddy got him.

Christmas Program

Brooke's 1st Birthday party

We traveled to Mineola Saturday to attend Brooke's first birthday party. All the family was there and we had a great time. When you get Brooke's attention she says "ooohh" with the cutest face. She is a doll!

Repile Club pics

Albert and the boys are members of the Raptors reptile club. They meet monthly at the Children's Museum at the Woodland's Mall. They got to see a python eat a rat and Christian and Ethan got to share with the group all about Dragon, our family's bearded dragon lizard.

Teenagers and Christmas cookies

Tonight we are apart of the youth weekend adventure. They are conducting their own Amazing Race and are coming our house to sing Christmas carols. We are to make sure everyone sings and if they don't we have to tell them to start over. Then we feed them cookies and hot chocolate and then they are given their next clue. We have two sets of teens coming between 7-7:30pm. It should be fun!
The kids and I will be baking this afternoon 2 dozen cookies for the event. I'm sure their will be lots of red and green teeth with my kids decorating the cookies!

4 am shopping

Ok, I didn't stand in line nor did I leave my house. I did however shop online for some Christmas gifts. It was fun and then I took my sleepy self back to bed.

Thanksgiving Blessing

We were delighted to have spent Thanksgiving with our friends and neighbors the Turners. Linda is a wonderful cook and her dressing was too delicious!! We had fried turkey, ham, black eyed peas, and Louisiana dirty rice with yummy lemon pie, pecan pie, and double layered pumpkin cheesecake. After eating so much we lounged around on their patio enjoying the nice weather and the kids & dogs entertaining us. Really a wonderful day.

In the evening, we were blessed by a visit from Krissy. It was so good seeing her. She and her friend Amber were driving back from Thanksgiving in Houston. My prayer is that she will continue to seek the Lord for guidance in her life. She is 17 and no longer living at home.

Happy Thanksgiving!

1Thessalonians 5:17-18 "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!!

Happy Birthday Dad!! Hope you have a great birthday and Thanksgiving!!
Love,
Christie, Albert, Christian, Ethan, Kara

Bathroom construction

Organic Farm find

The Hernandez' are recycling and buying organic. We were led this direction a little over 2 years ago. Since then we attempt to find as many fresh, local, pesticide free items as possible. Jubilee Organics which is a co-op that distributes pre-ordered items each Tuesday (orders must me emailed by midnight on Thursdays) at the Oklahoma Community Center in Magnolia (down FM 2978). We also shop at HEB in Indian Springs for our cereals and other dry goods. Grass fed beef is a great alternative we are looking into currently. The Jubilee co-op is now carrying grass fed beef from Yonder Way Farm in Brenham. Their website is www.yonderwayfarm.com. You can also contact the organic co-op jogang10@gmail.com. I bought some ground beef and a roast so I'll let you know how they are.

Santa's nice list

Check out Christian, Ethan and Kara's video with Santa. Click each one for each child.
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/10585-cdah4aloha/
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/10589-cdah4aloha/
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/10776-cdah4aloha/

Their cousins, Seth and Tate, sent us their videos and they loved seeing them. That prompted me to make them each one too.

Tree decorating

The Kids are so excited this year about Christmas. They could not wait to get the tree up.

Back 2 Basics Ministry

The Kids and I were blessed to be apart of the monthly CPS birthday celebration held this month at the Vineyard Church on Kuyendahl Rd. It is an awesome time to praise the Lord and give hope to those hurting teenagers who are in the care of CPS. The boys and girls are between 14-17 years old. We celebrate them with a cupcakes and ice cream. Local businesses provide the meal such as Chickfila, Lupe's Tortillas, etc. Donations provide for teddy bears, pillowcases, blankets for those just entering the foster care system. Barbara, the ministry leader, takes the youth to church activities across North Houston and also to lunch, skating etc to use their gift certificates received for their birthdays. To donate online go to www.B2BMinistry.com. This Christmas we are raising funds for the Christmas gifts or you can drop off donations at the upcoming Skate Party on Rayford Rd. on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 between 6-9pm. Gifts needed are MP3 Players, Teddy Bears, Blue/black pillowcases, cozy blankets, Portable DVD & CD players with batteries, Flying helicopter (remote $30), PS2games/Xbox games Rated E for everyone, Christian CD's ex. Lacrae and Christian DVD's/Movies, Fuel magazine for boys $15, Revolve magazine for girls $15, Chapstick/Blistex, Gift cards/Gas cards, Good smelling lotions, perfumre, girly stuff; Axe gift sets, Bibles-teen boys study & True Images for girls; Proactiv: acne medicine; Diaries, coloring books, colors, pencils; gift certificates: restaurants, bowling, clothes.

Dinner with friends

Saturday night we were blessed to have the Shiflet's over for dinner. It was our opportunity to meet Andrew, their adopted son. Six months ago, their family went to Russia to pick up Kathlena and Andrew ages 3 and 5. I met Kathlena at a baby shower for a mutual friend. The have two other children Emily 14 and J. Michael age 10. In 2006, we attended a home group Bible study at their house and received mentoring that has continued even until now. They are the best example I've met of a godly marriage and parenting. They are also lots of fun!! They really encouraged us to continue growing in the Lord and enjoy all the blessings He has given us. David and Albert swapped backyard deer hunting stories for our amusement. We had a great time. Please pray for Andrew and Kathlena as they have eye problems similar to what Ethan went through. We even share the same eye doctor!

Let's play games and eat Halloween candy

The kids have enjoyed the game they made using egg cartons in their Explorer class. It's called Mancala and it uses beans. They are really enjoying the class each Thursday and look forward to attending.

Nascar and Halloween

The Centilli's just got back from Fort Worth and a Nascar race. They left before Happy Halloween but celebrated on the road. They also combined ministry with their trip by serving with a SBC outreach ministry that serves the race there. They had a wonderful time.

Ant Killer

If you have fire ant mounds in your yard, Kara has found a way to eradicate them for good. This afternoon we were sitting out enjoying the lovely day when Kara spotted a new mound. She ran inside the house, up the stairs and back down again. She said she was gonna "kill those ants". In her hand was an enormous black and red plastic ant that Ethan had given her. She took it to the mound and said that the plastic ant was going to scare those ants to death! It was hilarious!! I had her reenact it for me so I could get it on tape.

Our friends the Green's Halloween costumes

Creative Charlene at her best. They are too cute as Sun, Moon, and Stars.

Devotion

In Jeremiah 31:2 the Lord reminds the Israelites and us that we can all find "grace in the wilderness" just as the people who Moses led out of Egypt towards the Promised land found. Are you in a wilderness right now? I know the place well. Although the wilderness is hard, rough terrain, the beauty of it is seen in the cloud by day and the fire by night. The Lord manifest Himself and leads us in these times. He provides protection and direction. A daily time in His Word provides the direction we need. The Holy Spirit, when we yield and surrender to His guidance through prayer, provides us with insight into God's will for us. Being in the center of God's will, is protection. Join me in this prayer today. "Dear Father, I confess my sin of wandering the wilderness. I know you've already provided instruction and protection. Help me to turn from the path I chose and follow You and Your will for me. Help me to open my spiritual eyes to the Promise Land which is Your will for me in Christ Jesus." Amen. If you are struggling with wilderness wandering, find His grace today! If you'd like personal prayer, please post a comment to our blogsite

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.