Through February 16, you can get a free download of the Funnix Beginning Reading Program.

About the Funnix Reading Program:

Funnix Beginning Reading is 220 complete lessons taking children from beginning non-readers to reading at a beginning third grade level.

When you teach Funnix Beginning Reading, you and your child sit next to each other and watch the computer screen. A narrator presents a series of fast-paced exercises in each 30-minute lesson. The narrator asks questions, and your child responds out loud. Your job is to reinforce correct responses and correct any mistakes by following simple rules for “navigating” the program.

To sign up for your free copy, just fill out this form. After filling out the form, you will receive an email with instructions on how to download the entire 220 lessons onto your computer. You will receive everything you need to teach the program, including daily workbook activities and guides to help utilize the program effectively.

Thanks, Fivej’s!

Free Funnix Online Reading Program Download is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Shane’s favorite pie is apple. It just so happens that my Dad’s favorite pie is also apple.

If I make a pie for one, I must make a pie for the other.

It just so happens that last week I had time to squeeze in a quick pie for my Dad. He could not believe I had made only one pie and that he had been the one to receive it. There may or may not have been a phone call to his son-in-law. There may or may not have been some gloating.

To keep the peace, I surprised Shane on Tuesday with his very own apple pie.

Happiness ensued and the playing field was back on an even keel.

Unless my Dad reads this. Then, he will be wondering where his apple pie is, as he has already eaten the one I made last week.

My two favorite men certainly make pie-making (and pie eating!) interesting.

Would you like the recipe?

Homemade Apple Pie

Ingredients
5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 cup; but it tastes exactly the same with only 3/4 cup.)
1 Tbsp flour
Cinnamon
Butter slices

Directions
:: Fill a 9″ pie crust lined pie plate with the sliced apples. You can sprinkle lemon juice on them at this point, if you wish.
:: Combine the sugar and flour, and then cover the apples with it.
:: Top with a generous amount of cinnamon.
:: Add the butter slices and cover with your second crust or make a lattice top.
:: Bake at 425° for 35-45 minutes.

Enjoy with a glass of yummy raw milk.

In the Kitchen: Homemade Apple Pie Recipe is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Shane played in an alumni basketball tournament this weekend. He played with many of the same guys he played with in high school.

Photo credit for the second picture goes to our friend Shawna!

Alumni Basketball {Wordless Wednesday} is a post from: Amy Loves It!

I am a total coffee addict lover, and so I thought I would share this Starbucks coffee deal available on Saveology. Right now you can snag a Starbucks Gift Pack for $45 (a $71 value!).

The gift pack includes:

• 1 box of Starbucks Select Triple Chocolate Bliss cookies
• 1 box of Starbucks Select Chocolate Chip cookies
• 1 box of Tazo teas
• 4 assorted 2.5oz. Starbucks coffee bags
• 1 official white Starbucks ceramic mug
• 2 heart shaped butter cookies
• 1 white Starbucks gift box

If you have a Starbucks fan, this could make a great Valentine’s gift… assuming you celebrate that day in your house

This deal includes shipping, and is limited to 2 saves per person.

Starbucks Gift Pack for $45 from Saveology is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Valentine’s Day is my least-favorite holiday. I hate the commercialism. I hate hearts. And other than daisies, I hate flowers. Poor Shane made the mistake of getting me a heart-shaped necklace one year, and I have since given it to my girls.

I am just not a hearts-candy-flowers-type person.

So when I saw this gorgeous burlap heart wreath that Myra made, I was shocked that I wanted one. And not only did I want it, I wanted to make it. But I don’t like hearts, I told myself as I made my Hobby Lobby list.

Ahem.

The heart-love continued when Myra decided to post these beautiful satin hearts.

Be still my… heart.

So, not only had I fallen in love with a burlap heart, but I had to also go crazy over satin ones as well.

Believe it or not, my home is now graced with the presence of not one, not two, but THREE hearts. I have never decorated for Valentine’s Day, and now it looks like it exploded in my living room.

In fact, I love these hearts so much, I’m not ready to take them down!

For more on how to make these beautiful wreaths, check out My Blessed Life’s Burlap Valentine Wreath Tutorial and Ruffled Satin Valentine Heart Tutorial.

Oh, and before you think I’m the worst mom ever for being such a Valentine’s grinch, I do let the girls make Valentine’s cards for their grandparents. And my sweet hubby and girls usually makes a nice meal and decorates the table with candles for me. So, I’m not a total grinch

Gettin’ Crafty: A Valentine’s Wreath {or three!} is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Reese has decided that dotting her letter “i” with hearts is a fun thing to do. I find it hilarious, and she thinks it adds a princess-y touch to her otherwise normal school work.

Abby Grace woke up at 7 am on Wednesday and at 7:30 on Thursday, and decided to start her school work early. She was amazed at how quickly and efficiently she did her work, simply by beginning earlier in the day. Maybe this will become a trend!

Abby mentioned earlier this year that she wanted to learn to write in cursive. This is a big step for her, as handwriting is not one of her favorite things to do. However, I have seen a great improvement in her handwriting since she began cursive. Yay!

She is also taking an online typing course. As I mentioned, she wants to start blogging, so I started her on Dance Mat Typing. She is doing a great job!

Dotting Our i’s with Hearts {Homeschool Wrap-Up} is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Meleah has it down to an art form.

How to Play the iPad and Suck Your Thumb at the Same Time {Wordless Wednesday} is a post from: Amy Loves It!

{photo credit}

So, it has been quiet around here lately. Would you believe it has taken me a few days almost a month to figure out our goals for 2012?

Yes, I can be a little slow at times, but I wanted to make sure I got it all just right. I hate having plans and then those plans going awry. It makes me a little testy.

School Goals

No, I am not totally crazy, but our new school year began January 2. Yes, I do know that we started a “new” year last fall, but that calendar is just not working for us. I have reconstructed our school year to run the entire length of 2012, January to December. I have never felt this good about a school schedule before, so I am hoping this is going to go well.

Now, does this mean my children have “jumped up” a grade? No. We don’t really “do” grades around here, except in Sunday school and for sports. And that is only because they “make” us

Home Goals

I definitely want to get my craft on a little more this year. I have already made seven (yes, seven) wreaths in the span of two weeks. I even pulled out my nemesis (aka, the sewing machine), and we ended up getting along nicely. If Amy and Myra keep posting really cute crafts, I may never get anything else done. Ha!

Decluttering is also a huge goal for this year. Our garage needs cleaning out waaayyyy too often, and I take that to mean we have waaayyyy too much stuff. I also feel like our house is packed with stuff. Whether it is, or it isn’t, we have a lot. And some of it has got to go!

There aren’t a lot of home improvement things we can do, as we do not own our home, but we put sod down in the front yard last year. This year, we are going to focus on making the backyard nice. Shane’s parents gave us a fire pit for Christmas, so we are really excited to have that! We also want to extend our patio a bit, and get a nicer picnic table and chairs. The garden also needs some type of fencing around it.

{The Diva}

Work Goals

I am still working part time on Couponing 101, and my responsibilities on Kingdom First Mom have increased dramatically. More on that later I am so thankful for both of these opportunities, as it has allowed our family to afford more, pay off more, and be “comfortable” financially. It also came in handy when I purchased a new laptop in December… I had money saved, plus I cashed in a ton of Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards that I in turn, used to pay for part of my new MacBook Pro.

Health Goals

We are still trying to live better and be aware of what we eat, drink, and use. I am still making my own hand soap… I don’t think I will ever go back to store-bought! It is super easy and much cheaper.

We no longer have a microwave at all… my parents’ microwave went out and we let them have ours. It has been over a year since we pulled the plug, but I can honestly say, we do not miss it at all!

I was thrilled when I found out Azure Standard has a drop 20 minutes from our home. We now buy most of our groceries and food items from Azure. I have even purchased fresh apples and pears from them!

We also have found a wonderful farm, where we purchase our eggs and milk.

{The Princess}

Gluten is being slowly eliminated from our diet. We think it might be causing some of Reese’s behavioral issues, so we are adding vitamins and trying really hard to keep the gluten out. It is hard, though, as gluten is in so much! I am thankful that there are so many gluten-free options that are easily accessible.

Another beast we have to battle this year is sugar. I have a feeling this may be the hardest thing to eliminate! We have also greatly reduced the purchase of processed foods. My intent is to be completely rid of them by then end of the year. Hey… it’s a process, right?!

Shane is training for an alumni basketball tournament at the end of January, and has suddenly become aware of the benefits of getting in shape. I think the only beverages he consumes now are coffee and water with lemon (maybe the occasional tea if we eat out)! I won’t tell you the beverages I still enjoy from time to time {blush}.

We will also attempt a garden again this year. Unfortunately, our garden last year was doing well, but burnt up thanks to the scorching heat. No amount of watering could have saved it. Hopefully, this year will be not as hot and our garden will be healthy! I have found a ton of great ideas on Pinterest to expand our garden, and I cannot wait to implement them!

Ministry Goals

2011 was one of those years in ministry you would just rather forget. This year, I am going to continue to stay on the sidelines and focus on being a wife and mother. Shane does a great job as youth minister, and doesn’t need me inserting myself. If he needs help, he asks; and that works for us. Although, I do kind of like it when I offer advice, he doesn’t follow it, and then comes back later with a sheepish look on his face and says, “You were right.”

What? I’m only human

Family Goals

As a stay-at-home-mom, you would think our family spends a lot of time together. We do, quantity-wise, but not as much quality-time as I would like. We need to be more intentional about spending real time together as a family, rather than just being in the same room.

{The Entertainer}

Financial Goals

In November, we purchased a new-to-us (practically new, as the owner kept it in pristine condition) Tahoe. It wasn’t an immediate need, but it fell in our lap and was a deal we could not pass up. We are almost completely out of credit card debt, and our plan is that by the end of 2012, we will only have that Tahoe payment.

An update on our family…

Abby Grace has decided that she wants to be a blogger, so she is taking an online typing course. I purchased a domain for her, but will start her out on Blogger until she gets the hang of it. Yes, this makes me both proud and a little worried!

Reese has halfway decided she wants to be called by her first name, “Ella.” She says it is more “princess-y” than Reese. {Que eye roll…} Reese has been in therapy for almost a year now, and she has made a lot of progress. Our middle girl is also doing really well in school. It looks like she is going to prefer math over everything else.

Meleah talks nonstop. She is quite the comedian, and keeps us laughing! I am not sure where she comes up with some of the things she says. If you are my personal friend on Facebook, you have already seen these, but I just had to share a few of the most recent “Meleah-isms”:

• To her Daddy: “Now, cover me up, old dude!”
• To me, while on my laptop: “You don’t play on my computer, little girl!”
• “Mommy, I eat my gum all.” (yep, she swallowed it!)
• “Mommy, I heard something. Maybe it was a coyote. Or a monkey.”

And that, my friends, is what is up with us. What is up with you?

Goals for 2012: Not Late, Just Well Thought-Out! is a post from: Amy Loves It!