tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988333320988987762011-07-08T03:52:56.257-05:00A glimpse at my journey to discover all that I was created to be while investing in my family, my church, and my community.Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.comBlogger1291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-13873325132107536952010-05-11T21:36:00.003-05:002010-05-11T22:02:29.600-05:00

I can't believe he's six months old. He's trying really hard to crawl but he usually goes backwards... and he looks kind of like an inch worm when he does it. He loves all the attention he gets from his brothers and sisters and is a pretty happy baby. Here are some pictures that I took of him today (Both of the other boys wore the hat Ethan has on in their 6 month pictures).

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-40683707582739777592010-05-10T14:08:00.007-05:002010-05-10T14:34:16.047-05:00

This weekend was a busy one, but a good one! Friday was field trip day in Albany. We visited the USS Slater, a destroyer escort from World War II. The kids even got to work the guns! The boys really enjoyed learning about life on board the USS Slater.We also stopped at the New York State Museum where Jacob got to see an old elevator, the construction site of a skyscraper (things we just studied)

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-29215679757590607442010-05-06T11:34:00.003-05:002010-05-06T11:38:47.021-05:00

The kids wanted to take a couple of pictures with the Mac today, and I thought I would share them.And here were are comic book style!

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-63458000427667110382010-04-04T16:51:00.007-05:002010-04-04T17:05:00.867-05:00

We are having a pretty relaxing Resurrection Day here. After church we came home and let the kids have their baskets and do an egg hunt. Then we went to my Aunt's house for Easter dinner and another egg hunt.We are so grateful for all that God has done for us, and most of all for His Son!

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-45506584671108252802010-03-15T13:32:00.003-05:002010-03-15T13:48:53.068-05:00

since I last posted. I spend most of my time walking around in a haze. I always mean to post, but rarely feel like I have the mental capacity to do so. Can you guess who still isn't sleeping well at night? It's wonder that school gets done every day. Or at least most days.In spite of my fogginess I am enjoying this stage of life. The older kids are getting pretty independent. Jacob is really

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-54354182297335416872010-01-11T15:35:00.006-05:002010-01-12T16:44:35.067-05:00

Ethan is two months old. It is already hard to remember what life was like without him. He's weighing in at 11lbs, 11oz, and is in the 70th percentile for height. (How did we manage to make another tall one?) He's doing great except for a little trouble with reflux which we now have a prescription for. I'm pretty sure he is the most spoiled baby on the planet. Every time he fusses one of the

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-41870954720156049932009-12-28T15:36:00.003-05:002009-12-28T15:40:32.845-05:00

Ethan is really enjoying one of his Christmas presents. He smiles at it and talks to it. He is especially fascinated by the music that it makes when he hits it. I love, love, love his smile :) And I finally got some pictures of it.

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-62417516144346740502009-12-14T12:56:00.006-05:002009-12-14T13:29:03.602-05:00

I just had to take a minute to share how proud I am of Jacob! He has become such a great help - I don't know what I would do without him. I took this picture of Jacob with Ethan this afternoon. You may notice that Jacob has 3 stitches on the top of his nose. Those came from his most recent trip to his dad's house where his cousin hit him in the face with a snow shovel (accidentally).Jacob has

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-46002792552251519372009-11-19T15:17:00.003-05:002009-11-19T16:22:14.446-05:00

I've had a week to recover and gather my thoughts, and last night my husband chastised me for being home all day and not finding time to blog :) ... so here are some of my thoughts and details from the story of Ethan's arrival.Very early in the pregnancy, the doctor let me know that he was planning on inducing labor at 38 weeks. Even earlier than that I started praying that Ethan would arrive in

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-65842613205101866062009-10-28T10:41:00.002-05:002009-10-28T10:49:24.930-05:00

Click here to view photo (big)Last weekend we made our annual trip to Tim's Pumpkin Patch. This year we decided to keep it to two pumpkins (one for the boys, one for the girls) since Todd could end up carving alone. And it was a little to cold to enjoy all that Tim's has to offer (like the barn full of animals), but we still had a good time.The kids are looking forward to Halloween and hoping

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-35500610368271868072009-09-28T13:01:00.005-05:002009-09-28T13:53:25.492-05:00

Here we are, well settled into a school routine and enjoying a beautiful New York fall! Life has been busy but largely uneventful. School is going well with all three kids. Jacob is learning about 19th century American History, decimal points and diagramming sentences. Gabriel is learning about multiplication, and Cadence is making great strides as she learns to read and count past 10.At the

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-22035417168445533062009-08-20T14:48:00.003-05:002009-08-20T15:17:31.597-05:00

Today we were out running errands and I decided to treat the kids to ice cream at the Big Dip. We were in North Syracuse (which is not our usual stomping grounds) and the kids were fascinated by the giant ice cream cone on top of the building. I remember getting ice cream at the Big Dip when I was kid, and told them how I lived near there until I was five.Gabriel (who is 5) was very interested

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-40191583698314475482009-08-17T18:58:00.004-05:002009-08-17T19:20:42.421-05:00

On our second full day at the ranch Nicole had arranged for the kids to have pony rides. Gabriel and Cadence each got a turn being led around the ranch on Blossom.Jacob got a little bit of a riding lesson, and then he got to hold the reigns himself! He rode Blossom around the barn while Nicole watched and gave him pointers. I got a little video of him too...

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-20248236872049170732009-08-08T17:36:00.008-05:002009-08-08T18:51:54.849-05:00

The kids and I went to spend a few days with my sister and left Todd home to work and attend the Willowcreek Leadership Conference. We arrived at the ranch after lunch on Wednesday. After dinner, my niece Becca helped the kids do a little fishing. Jacob (who needs no help fishing or baiting the hook) dug up some worms before we went to the fishing hole.The boys each caught a fish, but Cadence

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-23878753973694628022009-07-27T12:37:00.003-05:002009-07-27T12:51:01.233-05:00

The month of July has been largely uneventful, and for that I am thankful.Todd put a band together (temporarily using me as a drummer). We played at the Ride for the Rescue after only two full rehearsals. I didn't get any pics because I was busy rocking! It was lots of fun, but drumming is pretty tiring when you are six months pregnant.Other than that, things have been quiet until today. Last

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-51845268767538446762009-07-08T12:18:00.002-05:002009-07-08T12:36:42.649-05:00

In forty - four days, Jacob will be all mine, and no one else's!!!! His bio-dad signed the papers and we sent them to our lawyer yesterday. With his rights terminated, Todd (and I) can begin the adoption process making Jacob an official Young.Sometime soon we will meet with the lawyer to begin the never ending paper trail. Then we need to get fingerprinted, have a home study done by a case

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-78800636082819536092009-06-23T13:31:00.006-05:002009-06-23T13:52:39.151-05:00

He is my favorite 5 year old in the whole world!!!!We decided to let Gabriel graduate from kindergarten this year. Even though he isn't technically a kindergartener until the fall, he has spent 2 years in K class at our home school co-op. The teachers all say what a delight he is to have as a student because he listens so well and clearly loves learning. Most of the teachers this year didn't

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-43812824531334385252009-06-22T13:02:00.002-05:002009-06-22T13:16:01.492-05:00

The results for Jacob's standardized tests came in the mail today. I was anxious to see the results - to see if my opinions on where we are line up with reality. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the results! Spelling and math computation were a little below average, which I expected (thank you dyslexia). Everything else was at or above the 50th percentile, with his composite "

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-40021900664960146102009-06-05T14:18:00.006-05:002009-06-05T14:49:45.370-05:00

I realize I have gotten out of the habit again... I would like to say there has been nothing to blog about, but that would not be true. Since my last entry we had a great vacation, Gabriel got hit by a car (and walked away without a scratch), I got my yellow belt, and we got to see the baby at my mid-pregnancy sonogram.I'll just touch on the sonogram since that the was the latest event. Todd

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-71417939760678178802009-05-07T12:02:00.002-05:002009-05-07T12:21:23.517-05:00

I am officially announcing that Young baby number 4 is scheduled to arrive on November 4th. I have been hesitant to say much...until today. Todd and I lost two babies before Gabriel was born, so we pretty much spend the first trimester holding our breath. At my 12 week appointment (where I was only 11 weeks) they couldn't hear a heartbeat, and that made us a little nervous. I went back today (I

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-3888108347019024772009-05-01T13:23:00.003-05:002009-05-01T14:02:44.383-05:00

This is Jacob's first attempt at an oral report. It is sideways because I always forget and turn the camera on it's side to shoot video... I haven't done any critiquing yet, because I'm feeling lazy. Feel free to leave a comment and do my job for me :) I will say that I'm not thrilled with his closing, but we haven't worked a lot on that yet. And he needs to learn how to look up, but that may be

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-34137314886595840222009-04-14T12:57:00.008-05:002009-04-14T14:25:32.139-05:00

Look at me, back here blogging again so soon! I might just get myself back in the habit! I thought I would share some of our Easter celebration here. We started the day just like any other Sunday, and headed to church early. I am not a fan of all the "special" hoopla that goes on in church during the holidays, and thankfully, neither are out pastors! There was nothing "special" about our

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-42046319443224588292009-04-07T12:33:00.002-05:002009-04-07T12:50:19.391-05:00

Today was playgroup. Instead of meeting at a house like we usually do, we all went to one of the malls that has a play area. The play area was closed due to carpet cleaning. So here we are with 11 kids and nothing to do on a snowy April morning. We went to another part of the mall that has a bunch of those ride-on things that cost a couple quarters and let the kids use that as a playground (

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-32083628682366901902009-03-13T13:36:00.002-05:002009-03-13T13:50:49.478-05:00

The other day I was playing with Cadence in my bedroom. I started tickling her feet, and tickling Cadence is always a good time. Her belly laugh quickly changed to a cry for help, "Boys, mommy is getting me! Boys, come help me!"She kept calling and the boys didn't come. I started laughing at Cadence because she often forgets to be nice to her brothers... "Maybe if you were nice to them once in

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-3192294146806474912009-02-24T19:32:00.005-05:002009-02-24T20:38:11.831-05:00

My sweet husband took a day off of work yesterday because he knew that I needed a day of fun. We decided to take the kids to the Rochester Museum of Science for the day. We picked it because we knew we could get in free with our MOST pass, and Strong's (the other great kids museum in Rochester) would have cost us almost $50.I have to say, that this was the most productive, fun field trip/museum

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-90656967077157863242009-02-21T17:22:00.002-05:002009-02-21T17:37:18.900-05:00

First, thanks for voting! Hook #1 was the clear winner both here and on the message board frequent. The report is finished, and since we are basically "sabbathing" (I think I just made up a word) today, I have time to post it to the blog.I will correct the few spelling errors that he didn't fix, but other than that - here is Jacob's polar bear report.Most people think polar bears are white but

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-27455483074234288982009-02-09T13:30:00.002-05:002009-02-09T13:44:31.878-05:00

This past weekend, my sister and her family came to town! We went to the place they were staying for dinner Friday night. The family they were staying with has 11 kids! Only 5 still live at home, but most of the married ones live near by, so all of them (and all of their little kids) came over, too. My kids were excited to have so many playmates for the night.As we were walking in the door,

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-14163027130953497382009-02-05T16:05:00.003-05:002009-02-05T16:36:58.149-05:00

Yesterday, Gabriel turned 5! He helped me bake some snowball surprise cookies for after his birthday dinner. We will be having cake at his party at the MOST next weekend. My parents came over for dinner and presents, and Gabriel was the life of the party.Every time he opened a gift, he stopped and smiled this big silly smile at the camera.The other day when I went on a "date" with Gabe, I was

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-16395720630305848642009-02-03T18:21:00.002-05:002009-02-03T18:46:15.910-05:00

Last weekend, Jacob competed in AWANA Bible quizzing. This was his second year quizzing, and it something that he really enjoys. Him and his partner competed against 9 or 10 other teams from area churches. They started studying before Christmas, and Jacob missed many Giants games for quiz practice.Last year, our AWANA club took first place in every bracket. They did really well this year,

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-73438594046780124172009-01-29T15:40:00.002-05:002009-01-29T15:47:32.615-05:00

If you are reading this, please vote. Even if you don't usually comment or don't know us or whatever. Jacob, my 4th grader, is writing a report about polar bears. Part of his writing process was to write two or three good introduction sentences or "hooks" and then ask people to vote for the best one. So here they are:1. Most people think polar bears are white, but they aren't.2. Here are some

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-65829752300886407272009-01-21T15:08:00.003-05:002009-01-21T15:33:30.914-05:00

I have spent the better part of my afternoon pricing curriculum options for next year (when I should have spent it writing my 2nd quarter report for THIS year). And it seems that, just like everything else, these kids get more expensive to educate the older they get!What I dream about doing is ordering a complete curriculum from Sonlight, so I don't have to make library runs all year for school

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-19666731745114961652009-01-15T12:06:00.003-05:002009-01-15T12:16:47.963-05:00

I realize I have once again gone far too long without a post. It's just that this whole parenting/homeschooling thing can be rather draining. But I thought you might like a little taste of what my days have been like lately, so here you go.My little ones have been trying to kill each other all morning. Unfortunately, this is becoming rather common. Every few minuets one of them comes down and

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-24963376673366545542008-12-22T08:42:00.005-05:002008-12-22T11:04:54.996-05:00

I came across these verses this morning as I was reading in Proverbs 11:24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.These verses jumped out at me because we had just been discussing generosity and giving FREELY with our kids. Yesterday we had a chance (through Missio

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-78836849561589401452008-12-15T15:51:00.006-05:002008-12-22T11:04:20.800-05:00

We went out last weekend to get our tree, and got it decorated this weekend. This is always a stressful thing for me (I just don't like Christmas very much) but it went really well this year. The kids were all involved and excited about the whole thing.It was snowing pretty hard when we got to the tree place, so once we found a tree we all liked the kids found shelter under a group of trees. They

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-51305862201375701612008-12-10T13:03:00.004-05:002008-12-10T14:35:13.232-05:00

I was going to type it out here, but I thought it would be better to let him read it to you. He wrote this yesterday during quiet time. He didn't spell yeah right, he spelled it "ya" but it was good other than that.I don't know what possessed him to write a poem, but he said he is writing another one today. Sorry it is sideways, I couldn't figure out how to rotate a video...

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-1852111034241813002008-11-29T15:40:00.008-05:002008-12-10T14:19:33.023-05:00

This week we went down to spend some time with Todd's family. While we were there, we were lucky to be able to slip away for a night without the kids. We started our date by checking in to our hotel. Our original plan had been to stay at a bed and breakfast, but all the cheap rooms were gone... The hotel we picked had great reviews online, but the first thing we noticed was that there was a lamp

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-71484124543272890242008-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:002008-11-23T00:01:00.279-05:00

Todd pointed this study out to me, and then told me to take the test myself. It is a test of your knowledge of American history and government.From the story on 9WSYR's website...Earlier studies focused on college students but this one included Americans with all types of educational, economic, and political backgrounds.71 percent earned an F on the test. 164 people included in the study have

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-91349559016132904882008-11-21T08:13:00.004-05:002008-11-21T09:15:04.959-05:00

Last night, there was a concert at the Palace Theatre. Among the performers, my very own Missio worship band. I say "mine" because I am very possessive of them, even though I am just their sound tech most of the time. And I am especially partial to the lead guitarist.Despite a lot of craziness, the show came off well. There were 4 rap artists, Missio, and a band from Buffalo called Relevant

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-82750355134729875132008-11-21T08:01:00.003-05:002008-11-21T08:13:34.857-05:00

After a lot of back and forth, we decided to try a weighted blanket for Jacob as our first "big" investment. The thinking was, if he starts sleeping better it make lots of other things better, too! His therapist suggested we try a 10 pound blanket. And after lots of research, I bought one from eBay (affordable therapy solutions) that is weighted with poly fill pellets. Jacob knew that we had

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-29730223973234668352008-11-13T08:33:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:19:54.711-05:00

Well, we are now officially one quarter of the way through a new school year. The report has been typed up and sent off in the mail. And I'm still standing (yeah, yeah, yeah).I have to say that my boys are loving early American History. Thank you Sonlight!!! Gabriel (my 4 year old) was reading a Junie B. Jones book about a Columbus Day play and he came to tell me that the book was wrong because

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-42973057668876167822008-11-11T08:43:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:19:08.695-05:00

I just have to say that well therapy seems to be going well, and I am oh so thankful to finally have a diagnoses for my oldest and most troubling son, I HATE SENSORY INTEGRATION DISORDER! The last week or two has been rough. And with the weather turning colder, my options for appropriate therapeutic activities are dwindling. I have found that things like a long walk with Jacob pushing a stroller

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-79535820144862127172008-11-05T12:32:00.002-05:002008-12-10T14:20:21.011-05:00

You decide...

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-76645828332571043612008-11-04T14:02:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:21:08.967-05:00

are two of the books that I am currently reading. The other day I came across this passage in Luke that I don't ever remember hearing until this fall..."Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat?' Would he not rather say, 'Prepare me my supper, get yourself ready and wait on

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-22508418871752488552008-10-30T07:11:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:21:27.514-05:00

Gabriel gave me a good scare yesterday afternoon. He had been sounding a little croupy for a couple of days, but not coughing so much as just sounding hoarse. He was a little lathargic all morning, so I told him to lay down during quiet time. Being my sweet, compliant child, he did lay down and fall asleep.When I woke him up to go get Todd he was still pretty lathargic, and his color was bad. His

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-79469497057402422272008-10-24T12:55:00.007-05:002008-12-10T14:21:59.794-05:00

We went to camp last weekend. While we there I discovered that my mother, who is...shall we say....technologically challenged...had run out of room on her camera's memory card. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to deal with such an epic ordeal, I offered to take it home and burn all the pics onto discs for her. Here is some of what I found among the 735 pictures (after the 417 of their trip to

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-65107620348323548492008-10-23T07:34:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:22:40.294-05:00

I know, it has been a long time since I posted. It is fall, and fall is pretty busy around here! I have managed to keep up with my blog reading (for the most part), but I rarely even take time to comment. I have to hurry up and read through them in the morning before this starts:Daily Schedule8:30 Morning Chores8:45 Bible/History/Poetry/Lang. Arts9:30 "Preschool" (Cadence)9:45 Math Lesson/

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-72815008291608419012008-09-09T08:02:00.005-05:002008-12-10T14:23:19.713-05:00

I am about half way through my second reading of Red Letters by Tom Davis - I'm reading it to Todd this time. We read a chapter here and there, and then discuss it. This book has really made me stop and think. While Davis' main focus is on the AIDS crisis in Africa, he speaks generally of suffering, poverty and injustice around the world. I have been challenged to look for ways to really "

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-1027634318447281112008-09-01T00:01:00.001-05:002008-12-10T14:23:44.012-05:00

MMR Circus Song

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-39083691524982004362008-08-31T12:41:00.009-05:002008-12-10T14:24:05.939-05:00

Okay, here is the last of the vacation pictures. Lets start with the swim cap, shall we? It was undoubtedly one of the highlights of our week. It all started while we were watching Michael Phelps work his Olympic magic. I commented on the funny bathing suits that the men were wearing, which led to a discussion about how swim caps make you faster...and then Roger (my brother-in-law) put a swim

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-16222730658893008582008-08-27T10:25:00.007-05:002008-12-10T14:24:31.657-05:00

A couple of different times we ventured away from the ranch - down the mountain and into civilization. We went into Erie by ourselves one day to visit the Maritime Museum and Presque Isle. We thought we would hike or walk the beaches at Presque Isle, but that morning I went for a run and had a little mishap with my ankle. I finished my run and thought I was fine, but by the time we got to the

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-19167780225565635362008-08-21T13:07:00.008-05:002008-12-10T14:24:54.748-05:00

We had a great week at Miracle Mountain Ranch visiting my sister and her family. There were summer camps going on, which meant that we didn't see too much of Roger, but it also meant that there were lots of fun things going on at the ranch. The above picture is my three kids with Cathy's girls in the top of the hay barn. I would guess that the hay barn is at least three stories high and the kids

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-45809642946980941892008-08-18T21:29:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:25:14.882-05:00

I wrote the Superman Peanut Butter post about 2 weeks ago. I was mad that it wasn't showing up on my blog...but I was tired and I wasn't going to put too much effort into a post about Superman Peanut Butter. And then, randomly, it appeared. Weird, huh?I have vacation stuff to post as we have recently returned from the Ranch. Maybe I will get to that tomorrow...maybe.

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-15673797047198233142008-08-15T21:29:00.001-05:002008-08-15T21:29:52.864-05:00

Do you remember this? I don't know what made me think of it, but last night I was thinking about Superman peanut butter (maybe because Todd was eating peanut butter out of the jar while we watched a movie...)When I was a little girl I really liked Superman peanut butter. I was convinced that eating it gave me strong muscles like Superman (now picture me flexing my huge three year old biceps) In

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-53310746208829003012008-08-08T11:59:00.004-05:002008-12-10T14:25:48.487-05:00

Todd is attending the Willowcreek Leadership Summit (via satellite) this week. Last night I drove out to pick him up. I love that the Mission sends him to these conferences because he always comes home with great insights on being a better leader (at work and at home). I could tell he was in a really good mood when he jumped into the van. I figured it was just because he had such a great day...

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-3447968606197496092008-08-02T16:49:00.005-05:002008-08-02T17:23:57.940-05:00

A few weeks ago I took Jacob to ENABLE for a sensory evaluation. Let me explain - I have long suspected that he has "sensory issues", but have never been able to figure out what that means or what to do about it. But I came across some discussion on The Well Trained Mind boards about Sensory Input Disorder or SDI that exactly described Jacob. When I asked, several moms told me to go read The Out

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-8038636147260613722008-07-18T14:13:00.002-05:002008-07-18T14:35:27.582-05:00

I know you are wondering if I have managed to resolve my laundry situation, so here is an update for you.I noticed today that my utility sink was empty (the water had all drained) so I decided to try to figure out what its problem is. I disassembled a coat hanger and manuvered it down the drain hoping to snag some nasty hair ball to no avail. I have noticed that everytime the water drains, the

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-80173823267287002472008-07-16T12:38:00.005-05:002008-12-10T14:26:22.280-05:00

About a month ago I followed a link on a blog I read to get free copies of a couple of books. The only condition was that you post reviews on your own blog when you finished the books. I love books, and I love free stuff. To top it off, I had been hearing things about one of the books and was thinking about buying it. I have since finished Red Letters by Tom Davis (the book I really wanted to get

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-22907688724540091882008-07-14T19:41:00.002-05:002008-07-14T19:51:54.316-05:00

Today, I had to go to the Laundry Mat. Yuck! I'm not sure how anyone can do that on a regular basis. Our utility sink that receives the water from our washing machine is suffering from a serious clog. Draino didn't help and neither did Todd with his plunger. After I do a load of laundry, it takes at least two days for the water to drain out.When I explained to Todd that I think the whole sink

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-53234449376958297952008-07-06T16:01:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:26:51.242-05:00

This weekend the kids were swimming in their little kiddie pool in the back yard when Jacob came in yelling that Cadence had peed in the pool. Todd called her in and made her get changed and let her know that this behavior isn't okay. She kept insisting that she had not peed in the pool, but Cadence frequently denies her impish behavior... The boys were confident that she really had peed, and as

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-21110428539908955862008-07-03T09:00:00.004-05:002008-12-10T14:30:54.299-05:00

Aside from being my anniversary (which I remembered all by myself), July 1 kicked off our summer reading program. Jacob always gets excited about it, but this summer is extra exciting because Gabriel signed up too. They are supposed to be in kindergarten, but since we homeschool I can do whatever I want right? And he definitely reads better than most kindergartners.My only concern was whether or

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-18937738847042228722008-07-01T12:29:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:27:40.322-05:00

It was eight years ago today that Todd and I were married! I am not a sentimental person (in fact I have forgotten our anniversary at least twice) but I have been reflecting a lot over this anniversary. It feels really good say "Look how far we've come." And it doesn't have to be our anniversary for me to look at Todd and say "I really am one lucky woman."There have been lots of ups and downs,

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-26944542155775008802008-06-19T14:56:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:28:17.248-05:00

We have been having an eventful week, to say the least. One of the big deals this week is Todd's job. A few weeks ago at work he got the impression that their were going to be lots of changes and it could positively affect him. However, he had no idea what it would really be like or even if it was guaranteed to be a good change. But this week he started in his new role as Operations Liaison and

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-8762146615174704022008-06-14T13:48:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:28:38.713-05:00

This morning at breakfast, Gabriel and Cadence were talking about growing up. Gabriel said to Cadence, "Well I already know one way to find out if a wife will be a good wife or a bad wife." Now that was a statement that perked my interest... at least once when I have discussed growing up with Gabe, he has expressed concern about finding a wife. I told him how he should make sure he finds a good

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-38771599531343346182008-06-12T07:22:00.004-05:002008-12-10T14:31:19.361-05:00

I decided that doing science over the summer is one of the best ideas ever. We are done with third grade, so we have lots of time to focus on science. I have found that Jacob is more likely to ask questions (and explore the answers) and he really enjoyed making a lapbook. When we have several subjects a day on our plate, he gets this "lets get all the school work done so can play" attitude no

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-13450532056183753982008-06-04T11:33:00.004-05:002008-12-10T14:29:38.940-05:00

*It is the day my children have been anxiously waiting for....they have been daily checking the garden, looking for bright red berries. They were thuroghly dissapointed when their first discoveries turned out to be green on the bottom. "We have to wait a few more days." I told them. Every day more red appeared in the garden. And then today, right at lunch time, I found three berries fit to eat!

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-1529968363062634812008-05-31T11:48:00.004-05:002008-12-10T14:30:20.929-05:00

Because now I'm not so sure...Yesterday Jacob decided to write a letter to our local Christian radio station for a contest. Gabriel wanted to write a letter too, but Gabriel isn't old enough to win a week at camp. He was upset about being too young and insisting that he could write a letter, so I told him that he could go ahead and write to the lady but he wouldn't be able to enter the contest.A

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-70861578474158674532008-05-30T07:50:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:32:04.276-05:00

Gabriel is writing his name! All by himself! He just did it twice and it looked pretty good! I have not really pushed writing with him yet, since is just barely 4. And until a week or two ago he seemed more or less opposed to the idea of writing. I didn't really know what to do because it was obvious to me that he possessed the skills to write - he just didn't want to do it. And isn't that okay,

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-34929750730813440102008-05-28T14:23:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:32:48.365-05:00

We launched into science yesterday! And the first thing we are learning is how to observe. Well, I guess before that Jacob has to learn to keep the words "observation" and "hypothesis" straight, cause it will be confusing for everybody if I tell him to observe something and he is trying to form a hypothesis about it...Since our work load is very light right now, I decided to take the kids to

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-84154457088695040062008-05-26T15:35:00.005-05:002008-12-10T14:33:12.912-05:00

To commemorate Memorial Day? How did you remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for our freedom? We went to see Prince Caspian. We originally planned to do that tomorrow (Todd took it off), but realized that it might be easier done today. As we were pulling into the mall, I thought about it. I felt disappointed in myself for reducing the day to just another day off. My own father

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-81695740433134863752008-05-22T11:25:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:33:33.035-05:00

Today we finished our "core" (Sunlight Condensed World History) curriculum! We ended world history with a very brief overview of WWII. I'm thinking it would be appropriate to talk about Memorial Day tomorrow. We also finished Language 3 (ABeka) today. Jacob supposedly knows how to diagram a sentence and indentify basic parts of speech now (although Gabe has a better grasp on nouns and verbs than

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-5737844651595999222008-05-19T13:38:00.006-05:002008-12-10T14:34:19.329-05:00

First off, let me mention that Super Todd found the math book! When Jake was cleaning his room he was making piles that go other places (garbage, downstairs, etc) but decided to keep the piles separate by putting them in bags. Then we were having company and someone took the bags off the bedroom floor and stuck them in the closet. The math book was in one of those bags and daddy was smart enough

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-90742940459331629372008-05-15T10:45:00.003-05:002008-12-10T14:34:44.633-05:00

I need to vent...I am so sick of asking "Where did it go?" I could scream (and perhaps I already have). A few weeks ago Jacob lost his AWANA shirt, which caused lots of stress 'cause he was supposed to have for the awards night last weekend. It still hasn't turned up. Around the same time he also lost his ruler which is also still missing. Last week, the math book up and disapeared. Seven days

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-55652746595776893912008-05-12T07:17:00.003-05:002008-05-12T07:22:15.776-05:00

My family all came over to my house for a Mother's Day get together. It was nice to have my sister and her family up for the weekend. After dinner, one of the dads started trying to make the glasses sing. And once they got it to happen, everyone wanted to join in. It probably provided a half hour of entertainment. It was a fun evening. we broke out the Wii after we finished making music, and

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-20674960056424249602008-05-08T12:02:00.005-05:002008-05-12T07:09:11.242-05:00

It seems that a good nights sleep was just what Jacob needed today. We were going through our morning work with the greatest of ease (except for the usual 2 or 3 trips to timeout for inappropriate, animal like behavior before we really settle into working), he totally rocked his subtraction time test today, clocking in at 4min 20sec for 100 problems. He was focused throughout math and history. He

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-78682226626078409912008-05-07T17:17:00.002-05:002008-05-07T17:43:51.300-05:00

What a crazy couple of days we have had! Todd's bike got stolen in the middle of the day, but a few hours later he saw a kid ride right past our house on it - so he chased him. We were a little surprised by how young the perp was (he looked to be 12 at the most) and Todd was moved to have compassion on him. He talked the kid into giving the bike back and gave him a ride back to our house - he

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-23219790520512007732008-04-29T08:40:00.006-05:002008-04-29T09:21:53.111-05:00

I have been meaning to post these pictures all week, but I have been more or less consumed with my term paper, which I finished yesterday - 3 whole hours before I had to hand it in! It isn't that I waited until the last minuet to get started, the paper was half done weeks ago. It is just that I write best under pressure so once I knew what I wanted to write about I stopped writing until the end

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-85309995556457642412008-04-15T15:45:00.002-05:002008-04-15T16:00:32.041-05:00

Over the weekend I finished my report for the 3rd quarter of school. The end is in sight. I think that in 6 weeks we will be done with everything (except math and spelling because we will do those over the summer). I am thinking that we might spend lots of time at the MOST over the summer since I just bought an annual pass and maybe we will study and report on some of the exhibits there.For

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-86846060138396914672008-04-11T08:11:00.001-05:002008-04-11T08:11:23.724-05:00

I am so excited about this movie!!! Check it out. You gotta love Ben Stein.

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-34112849369791752762008-04-10T08:56:00.002-05:002008-04-10T09:10:50.367-05:00

Yesterday I took my kids to the library to get out new books. On average, we have about 30 books out at a time and most of the librarians know me by name. So going to the library is normally nothing to write about. But yesterday was different. It has been a long time coming, but yesterday I really felt like I lost my first argument with Gabriel - in the basement of the Solvay Library.One of

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-69864540396743041612008-04-02T10:37:00.005-05:002008-04-02T12:27:12.738-05:00

No, not my apologies. I'm not sorry about anything, especially not my faith. I am nearing the end of a course in apologetics being offered at a local church. I jumped at the opportunity to take this class for several reasons (including but not limited to "I have to get out of this house!") and boy am I glad I did it. The first several weeks I was thinking that maybe it was a mistake because it

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-8206287025741275412008-03-29T13:25:00.004-05:002008-03-29T13:40:31.004-05:00

I realized that the Easter pictures were not the only thing trapped in the camera. I don't think I had ever even looked at the pictures from Christmas.This one made me chuckle. I always tell Cadence that God must have needed a laugh the day he thought her up.... And what could possibly be harder than trying to take a decent picture of three kids? Oh, I know, lets add the worlds most obstinate dog

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-62494014555232848302008-03-29T13:02:00.007-05:002008-03-29T13:41:52.036-05:00

It took me almost a week to free them from my camera, but here are a few pics of the kids from Easter. People at church get a kick out the way our kids love to dress up. The boys almost always wear ties to church, and of course Cadence wants the prettiest, frilliest dress in the closet every day. We had a nice, quiet Easter which makes it easy to focus on the things that matter - Jesus and family

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-62050704007067019002008-03-13T12:48:00.002-05:002008-03-13T13:06:29.857-05:00

I am just about done ordering books and materials for the next school year, and I can hardly contain my excitement! We will being doing Sonlight's Core 3 - American History Part 1, and we love history. I have put a lot of thought into what to do with Gabriel next year (having just turned 4 is reading the ABeka 1st grade readers, excelling at most K math concepts, and is an all around smarty

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-16530825029935056942008-03-06T08:28:00.003-05:002008-03-06T08:54:10.701-05:00

Everything worked out okay, even if it did take a little bit of work and some name dropping. I remembered that we have rental coverage on our insurance policy, but Allstate said we couldn't pick up a rental car until our car went into the shop. And we couldn't take our car into the shop until the shop had the parts in. And they told us we had to go to their estimator in Liverpool on Saturday

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-9504106895324608082008-02-29T08:11:00.002-05:002008-02-29T08:24:52.665-05:00

Todd got in an accident on the way to work this morning. He is worrying that it will affect our ability to surprise the kids this weekend (we are a one car family) - he says the van looks pretty bad, but it sounds like it is just mainly the bumper. He is pretty upset. Maybe I'll rent a car for the weekend or something, but I'm sure he'll worry about spending that money when we have a detectable

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-41230867281226649722008-02-27T14:22:00.005-05:002008-02-27T14:41:02.659-05:00

Last week there were 2 different stomach bugs running rampant through our house. Everybody except me got hit with one of them, Gabriel got both of them and Jacob may have had both of them too. In fact, Todd was going to take me a really romantic date Friday night but Gabe threw up while I was picking up the babysitter! But by Sunday everyone was healthy...until today.Cadence was complaining about

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-17901815456435738712008-02-23T14:04:00.002-05:002008-02-23T15:04:02.805-05:00

I know, I know... it has been 2 and a half months since I wrote anything. My list of excuses is long and includes computer problems that account for several weeks of my lameness. More honestly though, I have been in a funk and sometimes those "lows" are hard to work through. Thank God for Todd - he like my rock when it feels like my emotions and circumstances beyond my control are swirling all

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-41730761087436372202007-12-13T08:24:00.000-05:002007-12-13T08:24:35.179-05:00

I was browsing the blogging world today and I came across this little tidbit. It cites some interesting research on socialization and such. And it makes me happy that I homeschool! I know, of course that the research can be tainted to achieve any results you want, but I do believe that parents are key in socialization and most of what kids learn in school about the subject isn't very

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-85209499834185525352007-12-09T08:46:00.000-05:002007-12-09T09:38:30.124-05:00

It is that time of year again. The time I dread. The time when the kids start asking "When are we going to get a Christmas tree mommy?" I dislike the Christmas season in general, but I really hate the whole Christmas tree ordeal. You see, in our seven years of marriage Christmas trees are probably responsible for more fights - I mean discussions than any other thing. Every year it is something

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-23652168910782756372007-12-04T08:48:00.000-05:002007-12-04T09:10:52.543-05:00

Yesterday Jacob finished one of his reading books, which means he had to write a book summary. Jacob hates to write book summaries. I make him do it (most of the time) anyway because I know I don't do enough writing with him, and the kid needs to learn to write correctly. But yesterday as I was looking over the instructor's guide to see what his book was about I decided to approach this

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-72760423973334190942007-11-27T15:12:00.001-05:002007-11-27T15:43:55.577-05:00

Today Todd went back to work after a 5 day weekend. Today the dog vomited on the carpet while I was in the shower. Today the dog ran away (again). Today the dog came home (I didn't chase her) covered in some animal's poop less than an hour before we had to leave for a doctors appointment. Today Cadence pooped all over the bathroom floor, down the back of her pants and made a trail through the

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-35287546925359108262007-11-04T08:26:00.000-05:002007-11-04T08:35:54.813-05:00

"No Greater Joy" is the name of a parenting magazine and ministry that I enjoy. In their latest issue I came across this article. It made me laugh, and I thought it was worth sharing. The article is written by Michael Pearl, who along with his wife wrote the book To Train Up a Child several years ago. There are a few of their ideas that I don't agree with (they believe King James is the only

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-27479241822087923992007-11-01T10:53:00.000-05:002007-11-01T12:15:03.011-05:00

Monday night we carved our pumpkins. Gabriel and Cadence both quickly decided that scooping guts out of pumpkins is gross, and they didn't want to do it. Jacob, on the other hand, seemed to really enjoy it and he wanted to scoop everyone's pumpkin. We made an executive decision not to roast the pumpkin seeds, since Todd and I both have childhood memories of our moms making the pumpkin seeds and

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-29950751320035992982007-10-29T10:11:00.000-05:002007-10-29T10:24:25.397-05:00

I've been struggling with how to teach Gabriel long vowels because most of the first grade reading books won't hold his interest (he may have the brains of a 5 year old, but I guess his attention span is more like that of a normal 3 year old). By the time the books get to long vowels, the stories are pretty long and everything I have tried has black and white pictures. So I am improvising right

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-70734558584623560862007-10-28T19:12:00.000-05:002007-10-28T19:24:12.627-05:00

When I saw Fraggle Rock on Netflix, I had to rent it - for the kids. When we put it in I said to Todd, "We are probably going to think - why did we ever like this show?" But 20 years later, the fraggles did not disappoint. Neither one of us could remember there being so much music in the show, but it was all so well done! We let them watch one episode the first night and they begged for more all

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-35981124575652696632007-10-19T13:11:00.000-05:002007-10-19T13:29:36.766-05:00

Let me start by saying that the word "dukey" has recently been revived in my vocabulary. I don't remember how it happened - it may have come from a movie or something. But I think it is a funny word, and I have been using a lot. This bothers my boy genius who says "Mom, can you just call it poop?"So, last week Jacob came home from his father's house informing us that his sisters had been sick,

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-61784772111909321502007-10-17T13:12:00.000-05:002007-10-17T13:37:40.571-05:00

I think I have mentioned before that my sister, Cathy, and her family are in the process of moving to PA to pursue full time ministry at Miracle Mountain Ranch. They are actively looking for churches to speak at as they seek support (both financial and prayer). So far, they have traveled to Maine and various places throughout New York. So, if you are interested, or have a possible church

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-15873233314772988852007-10-07T15:09:00.000-05:002007-10-07T15:42:50.149-05:00

Coach Kelly managed to orchestrate another win Saturday morning, guaranteeing that the "Green Snakes" will finish above .500 this season. We didn't deserve the win this time - and I felt a little guilty as I stacked my team (putting my 3 best players in at forward all at the same time) in the fourth quarter with us down 1 - 0. "It's not about winning, it's about having fun!" that's what we are

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-87775931850342566252007-10-05T14:16:00.000-05:002007-10-05T14:40:20.979-05:00

My niece Nicole is raising money to go to Jacksonville with her AWANA club. They are doing a "book party" and each order hips seperate ($4 shipping), so if anybody wants any Pampered Chef, follow the link www.pamperedchef.biz/lauriemitchell to browse the catalouge and contact me if you want anything!

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-498833332098898776.post-46364667686380159242007-09-28T13:00:00.000-05:002007-09-28T13:04:32.577-05:00

Yup, I did figure out how to record Grey's while we watched the Office. It required another cable (which I had to pull out of the wall in our bedroom - the last people who owned this house had as many tvs as Jessica!). But I was staying up late watching the long awaited new season thinking "this is the weirdest episode I have ever seen." There were a few sub-plots that were pretty good, and I

Kelly (Arnold) Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12840818211811668741noreply@blogger.com1