Great Song!

This is a great song I heard recently. Hope you enjoy!

Always by Building 429

This is an awesome song.

This video clip tells how/why the song was written.

Our God is faithful and never fails!

Music Recital May 2009

Our three oldest children had their music recital yesterday. They all did very well. The recital was held at a new location and they were able to use a baby grand piano for their pieces this time. Fortunately, the feel of the piano was similar to ours, so the kids didn't find that to be a problem!

Thank you Mrs. Medlock for another wonderful year of lessons!

Here are a few pictures of them playing. I will be posting the videos of their performances also once the videos are compressed.

Bethany played two pieces: Never Alone and Fur Elise

Bryce also played two pieces: Fight the Good Fight and Cockles and Mussels

Kaitlyn played Oh Susanna!

Some of the Colorado Claytons were here visiting and were able to attend the recital.
Kyle, April, and Cody with Zach in the picture!

Bethany and Josh before the recital started.

Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge

I have been reading through this book. I have read John Eldredge's other books and done a study with the Sacred Romance with a friend years ago.

This book is written for women and for the men who want to understand who a woman is and what their needs are....as a wonderful creation of God.

Here is a short passage to get you thinking. I may post more as I go through this..I am taking my time with this one.

From Chapter Four--titled "Wounded"

page 74 & 75--

AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Over the years we've come to see that the only things more tragic than the things that have happened to us is what we have done with them.

Words were said, painful words. Things were done, awful things. And they shaped us. Something inside of us shifted. We embraced the messages of our wounds. We accepted a twisted view of ourselves. And from that we chose a way of relating to our world. We made a vow never to be in that place again. We adopted strategies to protect ourselves from being hurt again. A woman who is living out of a broken wounded heart is a woman who is living a self-protective life. She may not be aware of it, but it is true. It's our way of trying to "save ourselves".

We also developed ways of trying to get something of the love our hearts cried out for. The ache is there. Our desperate need for love and affirmation, our thirst for some taste of romance and adventure and beauty is there. So we turned to boys or to food or to romance novels; we lost ourselves in our work or at church or in some sort of service. All this adds up to the women we are today. Much of what we call our "personalities" is actually the mosaic of our choices for self-protection plus our plans to get something of the love we were created for.

The problem is our plan has nothing to do with God.

The wounds we received and the messages they brought formed a sort of unholy alliance with our fallen nature as women. From Eve we received a deep mistrust in the heart of God toward us. Clearly, he's holding out on us. We'll just have to arrange for the life we want. We will control our world. But there is also an ache deep within, an ache for intimacy and for life. We'll have to find a way to fill it. A way that does not require us to trust anyone, especially God. A way that will not require vulnerability.

In some ways, this is every little girl's story, here in this world east of Eden.

But the wounds don't stop once we are grown up. Some of the most crippling and destructive wounds we receive come much later in our lives. The wounds that we have received over our lifetimes have not come to us in a vacuum. There is, in fact a theme to them, a pattern. The wounds you have received have come to you for a purpose from one who knows all you are meant to be and fears you.

**********************************************

I encourage everyone to read through this book... as well as the Eldredge's other books. They are wonderful, thought provoking and life changing...if you let God in!!

Resurrection Day preparations!

I wanted to share some of the resources we are using this year to prepare for Easter...so you might have time to try them out before Sunday!

First, Passover begins tonight. I love that it is before Easter this year..it will really help us to focus on how God had a plan for redemption from the very beginning!

We were going to do a lot to celebrate Passover, but time has gotten away from me, so we will do some simple things like make unleavened bread and read through the story in Exodus and discuss how the original Passover relates to what Jesus has done for us! It is so awesome to see how God planned things out and how it all fits together!

Here is one resource that I use over and over. It is: A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays

You can find it here: http://homeschool-books.com/xcart/books/bible-holidays/

It can be purchased as an ebook, so you can get access right away! It is on sale right now!

I am using some of the ideas and recipes from it today for our Passover preparations.

There are also two great Easter recipes with stories that we usually use each year.

One is Resurrection Cookies which can be found here:
http://www.annieshomepage.com/resurrectioncookies.html

The second is for Resurrection Rolls...which my kids love making every year! I have the recipe posted with pictures here:
http://wendyclayton.blogspot.com/2007/04/happy-resurrection-day.html

A friend just shared a great story with me that we will start reading tonight and read a little each night leading up to Easter. It is called The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke. You can find it here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10679 Once you are there, you will need to pick one of the links to download from.

I will post updates about how our Passover and Easter plans go!

May you have a blessed week!

Kittens, Kittens everywhere!

We have had an interesting 8 months or so with two of our cats having kittens...not exactly planned!

The last litter is now 10 1/2 weeks old, so the kittens will be going to new homes soon.

Here are a few recent pictures of them. We are looking for homes for the two females. One is the smaller black kitten and the other is the Tortoise Shell (multi-colored) one.

If you are interested in having one....let me know! They are inside cats.

The dad, Shadow, with two of the kittens.

Daddy with all 3 kittens.

Dad with all 3, the black one on his back is a girl and the multi-colored one is a girl.

The two girls!

Four Things!

Thought I would post this for fun...from a friend!

FOUR THINGS:

Here are four things about me that you may or may not have known, in no particular order. Directions are at the end.

Four names that people call you:
1. Wendy
2. Mom
3. Mrs. Clayton
4. Ms. Wendy

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Mother
2. Home Educator
3. HEB Bakery
4. Billing & Insurance for a counseling office

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
1. The Sound of Music
2. While You Were Sleeping
3. You've Got Mail
4. Sleepless in Seattle

Four places I have lived:
1. Del Rio, TX
2. Satellite Beach, FL
3. Woodbridge, VA
4. Soesterberg, The Netherlands

Four places I have traveled:
1. Switzerland
2. England
3. Germany
4. France

Four people who e-mail me:
1. Sarah W.
2. Lisa Y.
3. Amber
4. MelRae

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Chicken..many ways
2. Chocolate...but I can't have much now!
3. Salads & veggies
4. Fruit..many kinds

Four places it would be fun to be right now:
1. In the mountains
2. At the beach
3. In a huge garden with time to draw
4. Traveling the country with my family

Four friends I think will respond:
1. I
2. Do
3. Not
4. Know!

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:
1. Losing a lot of weight...on the way already
2. Getting back in shape..would love to help with my daughter's soccer team
3. Some time off this summer to do things like draw!
4. Learning many new things with my kids

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. American Idol
2. House
3. Lie to Me
4. Fringe (when it is on)

Now cut and paste into your own blog with your own answers and leave a link here when you do!

SHINE Spring Ball 2009

Here is a slide show of pictures from the most recent SHINE Spring Ball. My oldest, Bethany, attended again. It was a great night and the teens had a wonderful time! Everyone looked amazing!

This is an annual event hosted by our homeschool group.

Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Great books for your home and school!

Usborne Books & More!

An exciting update!! Usborne Books at Home is now Usborne Books & More! They have acquired the Kane Miller publishing company and are now able to offer even more books to your family!

Visit my website and click on the Kane Miller link (in the left hand column of links) to see the books! More will be added as we go! www.heartslovehome.com

There are also many new offerings and specials on the website! Make sure to enter the drawing to win $50 in free books!!

Come explore the world of Usborne Books & More! We offer high quality, attractive books in a variety of bindings for children of all ages! Our products range from cute baby board books to huge volumes on History and Science topics that are Internet-linked for added learning depth and fun!

You can purchase products directly through my website or host a party for free and discounted items while we share what Usborne is about with your friends and family! This is also a wonderful opportunity to earn income while sharing your love of books with other people! All orders ship very quickly once they are placed.

A child's interest in reading and learning is stimulated by the lavish illustrations and informative content. There are over 1300 bright, colorful and fun titles covering activities, puzzles and a wide range of subjects for children of all ages! Many specially priced sets are available as well as unique craft, fun and learning kits.

Please contact me for additional information!

Contact: Wendy Clayton

Phone: 210-599-6598

Email: wencla2007@gmail.com
**If you email me, please make sure to check your bulk/spam folder for my reply..as messages sometimes end up there instead of your in-box! I will always reply within 24 hrs of receiving an email!**

Website: http://www.heartslovehome.com/

Area: based in NNE San Antonio, available for business in all San Antonio and surrounding areas for home shows, nationwide for web sales!

There are a number of great new books available for this year!

Please let me know if you would like to host a home show or a catalog/eshow!! If you are interested in learning more about how the business works, please let me know!! There are several sign up specials this month!

Blessings,
Wendy

The Greatest Gift!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!



Below are part 1 and part 2 of the play the kids were in at our new church in New Braunfels!

It's about 53 minutes total with the two parts. I hope you enjoy it! The kids did wonderful considering that they really only had 2 practices before the performance!

I had to compress them in order to upload them here...but they should still look okay!

Many blessings to you and your family for the coming year!





The Greatest Gift - part 1





The Greatest Gift - part 2

The Gift of Eternal Life

1 John 5:11
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (NIV)

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NASB)

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (NKJV)

John 10:27-28
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me. (NLT)

This Side Up Christmas Concert!

I posted some info about the concert on my other blog but it wouldn't let me upload the videos. You can see a few other pictures and info here: www.tiwacademy.wordpress.com

FYI

I am going back to post pictures, etc. from that past month or more...please check below as I am trying to put them in the right date order as I go!

Hope your Christmas preparations are going well!! We are getting there...but time is running out!

Icy "Stuff"

I just had to do a quick post about the interesting weather we had yesterday! We went from a high of 85 degrees around 4pm or so down to the 40's by around 9pm and around 30 degrees for the low last night! Amazing!

Here are a few photos of the sleet/ice that came down last night! We had rain and sleet off and on all night..a nice change after no rain whatsoever the past few months!

What is a True Disciple?

This is a pretty awesome video/message. You have to read the text as it is in Danish.

Haircuts!

My kids were waaaaay over due for haircuts but they finally had them done today!

We have a good friend who comes to our home to do them for the kids. She is a professional and does and awesome job!

I only got the first and last ones taken as the other two went really quick and I was getting lunch for the 4 extra kids who were over that day! :)

This is my youngest...he really doesn't like haircuts, but he has gotten much better over the years! He did move when she was using the clippers...resulting in a shorter cut than planned for!

My oldest getting her hair cut. Note how long it is in this photo compared to the one below after it was cut and it was being flat ironed.

The result of 4 haircuts..we could have made our own wig!