Laughter Is Good Medicine....

Amongst all the serious mumbo jumbo of real life there are just times you gotta let loose, relax, laugh and have some light hearted fun. Did you know that laughing is good medicine? It takes more muscles to frown than to let out a smile !!! It was good fun this week when my daughter and her pal went to our Home School " My Mom Dresses Me Funny " party. They really looked forward to just being wacky for a day !

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The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings

Or you go to a birthday party and one of the goodies in the goodie bags are some huge cherry wax lips. My kids thought they were hilarious. They even struck a pose with them on. I think they are a bit scary. But, it made me laugh anyway. Look at my sons face. LOL.

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With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die. ~Abraham Lincoln

Laughing as a family brings the whole household together. I find that we are laughing often around here. Even my dear Mr. Darling makes us all bust at the seams. My daughter thought this was the funniest thing that her daddy was the same height as herself. My husband, the funny guy that he is will laugh uncontrollably out of the blue, even when there isn't anything funny. We all bust up at him...wondering what the heck he is even laughing at.

You know when people have nightmares and they cry in their sleep? My husband doesn't have bad dreams, but many times I have been abruptly awoken by the sounds of laughter... when he is sleeping... Should i wake him? Nah..He's having a good ole' time.
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A good, real, unrestrained, hearty laugh is a sort of glorified internal massage, performed rapidly and automatically. It manipulates and revitalizes corners and unexplored crannies of the system that are unresponsive to most other exercise methods. ~Author unknown

And, thanks to friends back home who send sweet boxes for the kids ( Thanks Susan & JJ)

We get things like tongues and elephants???? Have you ever blown up a pink elephant with really stout legs?

I didn't think so.

You guy's just keep us smiling & laughing !!

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It was not a laugh but merely a loud smile. ~Author Unknown

A laugh is a smile that bursts. ~Mary H. Waldrip

Carry laughter with you wherever you go. ~Hugh Sidey

Seven days without laughter makes one weak. ~Mort Walker

We don't stop laughing because we grow old;

We grow old because we stop laughing

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Dearest friends, Have yourself a laugh today. Hang out with your family & children and let loose. Laughing is good for the soul !!!

Here is an article on how laughing is

good medicine, relieves stress & more.

Laugh on !!!

A Winter Retreat.....

Over this last weekend our son spent four days in the mountains with his youth group. A long 5 hour drive to Quaker Meadow Christian Camp located at an elevation of 7,200 feet in the Sequoia National Forest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in South central California. The Camp is nestled among majestic Giant Sequoias and has offered 60 years of the Christian camping experience for all ages providing an atmosphere of learning and recreation.

The splendor of God's creation is the perfect setting to meditate on God's word and worship Him for the wonderful God that He is. A place to renew your relationship with Christ and draw closer to Him.

The camp sits among 200 foot fir trees and a few Giant Sequoias. The snow was up to my sons chest in some areas. Notice the picture below? The kids actually did a little sledding off that roof !

On Saturday there were three separate devotion times where they gathered together hearing the word, fellow shipping and praising God. My son said there was a ton of food at every meal. ( Teenage hunger...go figure)

They played games, listened to worship songs, wrestled around, went sledding, snowboarding, and even played pranks on each other. It was all in good fun. Sunday they had the Lord's day services in the morning and evening . Then came home Monday night. The first thing that came out of his mouth when he got home was,

" Can I go back next year?"

What a blessing of a time he spent with his friends in God's country. He has thanked us several times since that we let him go. I am so happy that he had a wonderful experience !

Hope you enjoyed the pictures... It is hard to see in the group shots where my boy is...

I can see him, can you find him?

hee hee.

A Belated Valentine From The Sickies....

We missed Valentines !!!!

Literally. It was not that I forgot or was out of town or out of my mind. My daughter & I were out with the flu. The day before Valentines we went to a Valentines Day Party.

My daughter was so excited to exchange Valentines with her friends and show off her sweet Valentine Box she made. I remember back in elementary school when we used decorated shoe boxes for our Valentine cards? That's just what we did. She picked all her yummy Valentine papers and lace, added some stickers... and there you have it... a lovely vintage style box to receive all her Valentine treats.

That night we dropped off our son at Church to go on his first Youth Group Winter Retreat

(To The Sequoia's)

Later my daughter ended up with a fever, cough etc... blah, blah, blah. Unfortunately her cold from a week ago worsened. The next morning ( Valentines Day ) We were both in bed with the flu ( laryngitis)... fevers...cough..oh soooo bad.


My dearest Mr. Darling surprised us in bed with roses and scrumptious raspberry danishes. Later he served us chicken soup.
What a sweetheart!!!

Mr. Darling also read to us from the Bible reading from Psalms. We were literally in bed from Friday night until this Monday night. I was unable to fully enjoy Valentines with my hubby the way one usually does. But, oh so thankful for the love he has for us. I love that man. He tended to us sickies for four days. Now hopefully he won't get sick.

I also wanted to wish you a belated Happy Valentines.

I hope that you spent yours with those you love.

I also wanted to share:

We LOVE because He first LOVED us.

1 John 14:6

He delights in unchanging LOVE

Micha 7 :18

Museum Of Making Music

As a Home School group this week we went to the

Museum Of Making Music

A tour guide went through the history of instruments and the progression of how music and musical instruments have gone through the times.

Many of the instruments dated back in the 1800's to current times.

It was quite interesting.

And if you know my son....

whom is a very talented musician, really liked the see through piano...they also had a piano that had a lid made to look like butterfly wings.

There were things like this....

What the heck is it you may ask? Well, it is a phonograph AKA record player. For all you youngins who have never seen such a thing this was like our Ipod in the day.

It was a very nice experience, so if you are ever out in the San Diego area...

check it out !!!

You'll leave with a whole new look on music that is for sure !

Home Is Where The Heart Is.......

Ahhhh, spending indoor time on a

rainy day + being sick = Coloring in bed !

There's no place like Home

when your sick...Mama will make it all better.

Print up some color sheets, eat hot soup,

drink fruit smoothies, read all day long

and never get out of those p.j's.

That's just what my little girl did this last week.

(Notice antique green tray in picture... $3.99 !!!! LOVE Thrifting !!!)

In honor of our favorite Magazine

Mary Engelbreit's

Home Companion she colored a page from her

website

Did you hear the SAD news ???

The Home Companion Magazine has been taken off the shelves due to the economy. The publishers took it away including a couple other home magazines. I have been a subscriber to that magazine for the last 9 years ! I will surely miss the paper dolls in each issue which I have diligently been collecting over the years for my daughter. I hope to see her up and running again in the near future !

Home Schooling At The Zoo & February Tid Bits.....

Hello !!!!

Welcome February !!

This post consists of tid bits...... I am happy to say this has been officially one full month since my daughter & I started walking three times a week with our friends at The Wild Animal Park. We used an odometer to count the many steps we take on each walk, which was in the thousands, giving us a 2 1/2 mile trek around. Not only has it been fun to see the animals and my daughters beloved elephant pals, but it is also beautiful and educational.

My little girl keeps up or shall I say I keep up with her. Fridays we set the day with a walk,

picnic lunch an animal show and playground fun as the kids reward for doing an awesome job.

The great thing is if you are a member of the San Diego Zoo you get unlimited visits to both The San Diego Zoo & The Wild Animal Park for a whole year !!!

Last Friday we went to The SD Zoo and took our teen boy's along.

Before I go on....Did I tell you my daughter was an elephant whisperer?

See this story on her blog Elaphant Dreams

Well, she has this way of making a very realistic elephant sound. Her first visit to The Wild Animal Park was magical when almost the whole African herd ran up toward her while trumpeting back and reaching up their trunks to her.

She gave her magical elephant call, this time at the zoo... and before our eyes an elephant turned toward her with ears flying, trumpeting back at her. In the picture below my daughter to the right is calling the elephant...the elephant is coming toward her in the upper left.

Not only do our little ones enjoy their experience at the zoo, but so do the teens ! My son had a (moment) when he saw a stick bug...which he remembers holding one in pre school. Talk about eyes lighting up. So I took a picture of him next to his stick bug buddy.

The boys were really into the bugs...

whats up with the fascination between bugs and boys???

I chuckled just watching them. Look how into it they look just watching the ants in their tunnels. I guess they never really grow out of that sort of thing.

Ready for your teen to drive???

This is all the driving they'll be doing for a little while longer.

Adventurous aren't they?

Field Trips coming this month:

1. The Museum of Making Music

2. My Mom Dresses Me Funny Day

3. Valentine Party/Valentine card exchange

4. My daughter starts soccer