Bathroom

So I went to my first "party" on Thursday. When I say party, I'm referring to a demonstration of some product like: Tupperware, Pampered Chef, etc. I've been to a couple when Stephanie sold Pampered Chef and Tupperware, but they don't count cause I just went to keep her company. The party was for Norwex cleaning supplies. I wasn't really planning on going. Stephanie was hosting it so it was at our house. I was just going to go downstairs and play on the computer. But they were yelling down and asking if I was going to go so I was roped into it. Now I love the stuff. Norwex's whole thing is cleaning without chemicals. I just got done cleaning the whole bathroom with one rag. It's pretty cool. That is my one cleaning job. The bathroom. I don't keep up with it very well. That's all I have to say. Exciting story huh. 

TJ

Weekend

Hey Howdy Hey!

I just had to post something to get the Big Time Gaither News off of there.  I was sick of looking at it. :)

This weekend I will be up in Mora at my Aunts house scrapbooking.  So, if you're around here, help keep TJ company.  If not give him a call to see if he's bored yet. 

Tootaloo!

-Steph

BIG TIME Gaither news

2009 Brings Revolutionary New Direction for the Gaither Vocal Band

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1/13/09 (Alexandria, Indiana) - With mixed emotions and tremendous optimism about the future, Gaither Music Group announces major personnel changes for the Gaither Vocal Band, including the return of some of the group's best-loved alumni.

After more than 14 years as the Gaither Vocal Band's lead singer, Guy Penrod will now begin a new journey. Bill Gaither is delighted to announce today that Guy is pursuing a new direction as a solo artist. It is a bittersweet transition as Penrod will miss sharing the stage with his comrades and he will be greatly missed.

Bill Gaither states, "I am losing a lead singer, but I am not losing a friend. I am extremely grateful for the incredible contribution he has made to the Gaither Vocal Band's legacy." Guy Penrod has said in response, "My years with the Gaither Vocal Band have been among the most glorious of my life. Now, though, with the Band continuing in strength and me tackling the new challenge of a solo career, we can all serve our God even more powerfully in the days to come."

As Gaither has stated at various times of transition, "You never replace a group member... you simply find a fresh, new direction." And with that philosophy at heart, Bill Gaither has gone far beyond simply replacing his long-time lead singer. He has completely recreated the Gaither Vocal Band, now expanding the size of the group from four members to five and bringing back an all-star cast of voices from the Vocal Band's rich legacy of talent. 

Effective immediately, the new roster for the five-member Gaither Vocal Band will be: Bill Gaither, David Phelps, Wes Hampton, Michael English and Mark Lowry. Mark Lowry will complete all his previously scheduled solo engagements through April 2009 and will appear with the Gaither Vocal Band at every available opportunity during this transition, beginning with the Gaither Caribbean Cruise on February 22.

Marshall Hall, who has sung with the group since 2004, will no longer serve as the group's baritone and will be missed dearly by his friends both on and off the stage. He is a talented singer and producer, as well as an experienced worship leader, who will undoubtedly enjoy a solid future building on the experience gained during his five remarkable years with the Gaither Vocal Band.

The public's overwhelming early response to the January 20th release of The Gaither Vocal Band Reunion DVD, as well as the group's 2009 Grammy nomination, has already begun what could be the group's most unforgettable season yet. 

The first live concert of 2009 will take place January 29 in Huntsville, Alabama, and tickets are still available. For more 2009 concert dates visit www.gaither.com and click on the 'Tickets' banner. 

Introducing... your brand new Gaither Vocal Band!

-----------------------------------

Wow. Shocking. This group will be great. Just makes me wonder if this is the beginning of the end for the GVB? All the more reason to get your tickets for the Gaither concerts coming up in Des Moines and Minneapolis. 

TJ

Carpet's In!

Here's the first look at the carpet!

eye exam/carpet

I just got back from an eye exam.  I went to an Opthamologist instead of a regular Optometrist.  I'm not really sure the technical difference.  I would have to look it up.  But I think the Opthamologist figures your prescription and also checks everything else about the eye including glaucoma, and any infections, or some other thing that might be wrong with your eye.  Where the Optometrist mainly just checks your eyes to see what your prescription is.  Like I said I don't know the real difference, that is my conclusion after being to an Opthamologist for the first time.  He did lots more things to my eyes than I have ever had done before.  I had my eyes dialated.  Everything is kinda blurry.  And my pupils are huge. 

The guys are here installing the carpet as I type this.  I'll post a picture when they get done.

Yay!

electricity

Yesterday mom and I were installing the outlets and switches downstairs.  First of all, I had my directions mixed up.  (I shut off the Middle and East breakers for the basement.)  Mom comes down and says, You have the power off right?!  I said Yes.  TJ comes down and says you have the power off right?!  I said yes.  So I start working on the first outlet.  As I'm hooking up the outlet, I felt something like a pinch.  I thought I poked my finger on the sharp corner of the outlet.  Mom was watching me and I said, I just poked my finger.  But then I felt a bigger pinch.  I said....... or maybe I shocked myself because it just happened again.  I think I turned off the wrong breaker.  Sure enough,  I was supposed to shut off the West and middle not the east.  So I was backwards.  There aren't any switches on the east side yet.  So shocked myself 2 times yesterday.  Both TJ and Mom said, we asked if you had the power off and you said Yes!   Well, I thought I did.  So today, I'm trying to figure out why one of the breakers keeps blowing.  I called Adam to see and he said one of the ground wires may be too close to one of the black screws so I had to check them all today.  So before working yes, I shut off all 3, yes I said 3 basement breakers.  I finally figured it out and got it to work.  The last light switch just needed to be pushed back in the box and secured.  As I was pushing it in... the light is on mind you.... My finger touched the black and gold at the same time.  And I said.... "awawawawawaw".  Third time's a charm huh?!  Duh!  So I shut off the power yet again just to secure the box to the wall.  Everything's good and hooked up now, it all works and is secured properly!  Yay.  After I electrocuted myself I came upstairs to eat supper, and spilled my whole plate of food on my pants and the chair..... then I almost fell down the stairs.  TJ was sure that something happened to me after getting shocked!  I feel ok though.  For now. :)

-Steph

Icy/Gaither Concert

Greetings. Here's what we did this week. We just got back from Iowa. We made an unplanned visit to see our nephew, Caleb, who was in the hospital. At Stephanie's mom's house over Christmas he was sick most of the time. When they got home they took him to the doctor and then sent him to the hospital. It turns out he had pneumonia. But that's not why he was kept in the hospital. There was something wrong with his kidneys. They weren't really sure what it was so that's why he was kept there. It was pretty much complications from pneumonia on his kidneys. There's some word for it but I don't know what it is. So Stephanie, her mom and me went down to Iowa on Thursday after Stephanie got off work. Thankfully, Caleb got to leave the hospital on Friday and is doing much better. We came back Saturday. It was not fun coming back. The roads were very icy. We went about 40 mph the whole way home. Around the Jewel exit in Iowa I saw a vehicle going southbound and it looked like it was turning cause it was facing sideways. Then I realized it was sliding on the ice. And all of a sudden it flipped and ended up in the ditch with it's tires in the air. We saw a lot of vehicles flipped over in the ditch, but for some reason they were all on the southbound side. Weird. The northbound side was bad too. So that was a great adventure. 

Let me throw a plug in for the Gaither Homecoming concert coming up on May 29th at 7pm at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, January 19th at 10 am! Here's a list SO FAR of who's going to be there:

Gaither Vocal Band

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Mark Lowry

Gordon Mote

Janet Paschal

Lynda Randle

Russ Taff

The Collingsworth Family

Kevin Williams

-and possibly-

The Hoppers

Karen Peck & New River

Charlotte Ritchie 

Ben Speer

For more ticket info visit this page.

TJ

Random

If you haven't noticed we have and do a lot of random things here.

I have a lot of random thoughts sometimes.

The kids say numerous random things, or just super funny things. And most of the time I try to write them down right after they do it. It'd kinda sad, but great because I will always remember these silly things that they say! I have a spot on my ipod so if I'm at the store, I can still write down their funny comment. If I'm in the car I have a notebook, or my ipod. And when I'm at home, I have a notebook, the ipod or a document on my computer desktop that I type them into. So funny. Something funny will happen, and I think, I gotta to write that down so I can put it on the blog!

Plus, if you know my husband he does weird random things all the time. I'll have to remember to record some of the random funny things he says to make sure they make it to the blog too.

I hope you enjoy the random sections of my blog. They are fun for me to gather up and write down!

 

Photography

I got a new Canon Rebel for my birthday in 2009.  And I am in LOVE!  I can't learn enough about it.  I have such a long way to go...but it's been fun, and I'm always learning something new, or trying something again and again until I remember all the little tricks and features.

I'd love to turn this hobby into a small business.  I'm working on that through my photography blog.  So far I am learning through great people who are giving me a chance to do some photography for their family, kids, events, etc.  Besides my own photography desires of all the beautiful things around us in nature!

I also have, what I think, are great shots and I am trying to market them as files for sale.  I've started this process as a trial by using a pay pal account through my photography blog.  Check out some of my alphabet art and other nature/scenery shots that might be great artwork for you!

And if you're in the area and would love to give me some more practice time in, let me know and I'd love to shoot some family photos for you! :)

I also have a great opportunity to work with a friend who is growing in his photography business and he is going to let me work with him on some of his wedding shoots this coming summer.  What a wonderful opportunity.


 

Homeschool

Activities  Colors  Crafts  Field Trips  Games Lapbooks  Letters  

Numbers  Reading  Printables  Shapes  Homeschool Tips

Why homeschooling?

Well this is a good question, and even though it may not be good for you, it works great for our family.

We may have come into homeschooling for totally different reasons than others, and that is just fine.  To each his own!  But it was none-the-less all part of God's intricate design for our family.

I previously never imagined myself as being a homeschool mom.  I went to public school growing up, in a very small town, that is....and enjoyed it.  But I also didn't know any different.  My husband on the other hand went to public school in a larger town, didn't enjoy it so much and ended up doing the last high school years homeschooled.  So his mindset was when we had kids he wanted me to homeschool because that is what he enjoyed more.

After thought and prayer, and not so ordinary circumstances, God has brought homeschooling to our family and placed a love for it in my heart that was never there before.  I am so glad I can be with my children all day and teach them academics as well as bible knowledge and character traits, etc.  It works well for them to have the flexibility to do their work when they want, and at the pace they need for the understanding to be complete before moving on to the next subject.  Sometimes its right away, and other things need more time.  This extreme flexibility is not available to them in the public schools....not that they are not a great place for children to learn.  We are just glad for the capability and opportunity to homeschool instead.

Join us as we share with you all our homeschooling adventures including, games, activities, paperwork, curriculum, idea sources, crafts, and much more.

And then have some fun with your preschoolers on up!  Maybe you'll realize homeschooling is a great fit for your family too!

Activities  Colors  Crafts  Field Trips  Games Lapbooks  Letters  

Numbers  Reading  Printables  Shapes  Homeschool Tips

 

Disclaimer

My husband started this blog as something funny and silly. He was the one who started writing things about work, or funny things he would come across.  That's why the address is generically tjandstephanie.blogspot.com

I started doing some of the blogging in 2009 when we became parents and changed the mindset a little. But the real change was when I started hardcore working on the blog the beginning of 2010. This is when I changed the look, and name of everything minus the web address.  That's not so easily changeable. :)


Just a note about the name, When you're Wright, you're right....I do not believe that we are right about everything just because of our last name. It's just a silly play on words. And it's just a silly name for a blog.

So don't read into it too much and just sit back, relax, and enjoy my ramblings, recipes and the reality of our day to day life!


 

Numbers

--NUMBERS--

Build a House 1-9
Build a House 10-20
Number Placements
Addition Flash Cards 
Circle-It Number Worksheets
File Folder Number Sorting
Counting Chart 
Number Order Games
 

 

Shapes

--SHAPES--

Shape Tracers Big

Shape Tracers Small

Shape & Color Matching

 

Colors

--COLORS--

Shape or Color Matching
Color Words Puzzle #2

Color Words #1
Color Shading(using paint chips)

 

Homeschool Tips

--TIPS--

Reuse your Books part 2
Bind those Papers
Reuse your Homeschool Books
Recycled Notepads
Laminator

 

Reading

--READING--

Short Stories (Three Bees)

Homemade reading flash cards
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Set 4
Set 5
Set 6
Sight Words Flash Cards 

Paint Chip Phonics

Bible Verses

 

Games

--GAMES--

Build a House 10-20
Build a House 1-9
Money Bags
Bean Bag Toss
Cherry Pie
Find the Smiley Face
Caterpillar Shoes

Drop the Letter in the Bucket

Teddy Bear Path 

Will it Float 

 

Contact Me

If you have a question about something and you don't want to leave it as a comment on the blog or facebook for others to see please feel free to contact me other ways....

Email me:
tjandstephanie@gmail.com



 

Activities

--ACTIVITIES--

Fill the Pocket
Pompom Magnets

Drop the Letter in the Bucket   

Fine Motor Skills(Tracing) 

Alphabet Lacing Kit
Bean Bag Toss
Mosaics


--Activity Bins--

Number Bin
Puzzle Bin
Letter Bin

--Sensory Bins--

#1-Rocks and Bugs
#2 Beans 
Sensory Bin(Beans) (first smaller version)
#3 Balloons 

 

Field Trips

--FIELD TRIPS--

Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant
Reptile & Amphibian ZOO

Train

Nature Walk 

Children's Theater 

Apple Orchard 

MN Zoo

 

Kids Crafts

--CRAFTS--

American Flag
Animal Crafts, Etc.
Apple painting
Beaded Name Key Chains
Body Tracing
Binocular Craft 
Carrot Stamping
Calendar (Monthly Events) Craft
 Canvas Painting #1
Curled paper Pumpkins
Crazy Hats
  Door Hangar
Elephant Craft
Finger print-cattails
"God Pocket"
Hodge Podge Craft
Hippo Puppet Craft
 Heaven
Immanuel, God with us
Indian Headbands
Lamb of God
Leaf Rubbing
Marbelous Maze
Maracas(Music Makers)
Ocean in a Bottle
The Ocean
Paper Weaving
Paper Kite
Paint By Number Turkey
Simple Snake Craft
Stained Glass Window
Crayon Stained Glass
Sky & Star Paint Craft
Snowman #1
Snowman #2
Snowflakes
Sensory Touch & Describe Book 
Shrinky Dinks
Tricorn Hat 
Tin Can Phone
Tree/Leaves Craft
Thanksgiving Turkeys
Teepee  
Water/Color blend Flowers
Wigwam
Wiggly Person Paper Craft
Yarn Art
Yarn Eggs

--Food Crafts--

Apple Face
Birds Nest
Banana Octopus

Banana Frog

Carrot Car

Orange Sun

--Holiday Crafts--

Thankful Paper Chain
Paper Weaving
Indian Headbands
Paint By Number Turkey
American Flag
 Yarn Eggs
Thanksgiving Turkeys
Curled Paper Pumpkins

 

Lapbooks

--LAPBOOKS--

Solar System
A Snowy Day
Animal Groups   
If you Give a Mouse A Cookie
Fruits & Veggies
Alphabet Sorting
Transportation
 Calendar Presentation Board
Officer Buckle & Gloria

 

Letters

--LETTERS--

Almost all the Letter of the Week items are from Confessions of a Homeschooler's Blog.

(Below is info we chose from other sites and some of our own ideas.)
(I'm still working on these files.  I will update as we go through them)

Letter A
Letter B
Letter C
Letter D
Letter E
Letter F
 Letter G 
Letter H
Letter I
Letter J
 Letter K
Letter L
Letter M
Letter N
Letter O
Letter P
Letter Q
 Letter R 
Letter S
Letter T
Letter U
Letter V
 Letter W
Letter X
Letter Y
Letter Z


--- Other Alphabet activities from me! ---

A-Z Circle It Worksheets
Alphabet Lacing Kit
Foam Letters
Vowel Sort  

Alphabet Sorting 

Drop the Letter in the Bucket 
Find the Smiley Face
Bean Bag Toss
Alphabet Chart
A-Z Poke it pages
a-z lowercase tracing 
A-Z uppercase tracing

 

Printables

--My PRINTABLES-- 

Letters
A-Z Circle the letter
A-Z Bean Bag Toss CAPS
a-z Bean Bag Toss lowercase
A-Z Alphabet Sorting cards 
A-Z Poke it pages
a-z lowercase tracing 
A-Z uppercase tracing
 Vowel Sort

Numbers
Addition Flash Cards
Counting Chart
1-20 Circle the Number
0-20 number tracing
Build a House 1-9
Build a House 10-20
Numbers 10-20 Crossword
Numbers 0-9 Crossword
1-100 Blank Chart 

Colors
Color Words Crossword

SPELLING
Spelling Word Search 2-1
Spelling Scramble 2-1
Spelling Word Search 2-2
Spelling Scramble 2-2
Spelling Word Serach 2-3
Spelling Word Scramble 2-3
Spelling Word Search 2-4
Spelling Word Scramble 2-4
Spelling Word Search 2-5
Spelling Word Scramble 2-5
Spelling Word Search Review 1-5

MISC
Months draw a line
Months cut and paste
Months cut and paste(K) 

Activities/Games
Caterpillar Shoes 
Find the Smiley Face
Teddy Bear Path
Cherry Pie Game 
Build A House
 

Fruit and Veggie Lapbook

Food Nursery Rhymes Flipbook
Fruit Word Wheel
Veggie Word Wheel

Finish the Fruit Drawing
Fruits & Veggie pictures

Solar System Lapbook

Planet Orbit Patterns

Planets

Planet Information 

Bible Verses Matching

John 8:12
John 1:1
John 1:29
John 10:14
John 11:25
John 14:6
John 15:5
John 6:35
John 7:37
Matthew 1:23 
Matthew 20:28 
Matthew 7:24

Bible Verses Tracing
John 1:1
John 1:29
John 10:14
John 11:25
John 14:6
John 15:5
John 6:35
John 7:37
John 8:12
Matthew 1:23
Matthew 20:28
Matthew 7:24

 

Recipes

Click here to see a list of all my recipes.

Click here to see a list of my Gluten Free-Dairy Free Recipes.

(Gluten Free is a work in progress so be sure to keep checking back as I change all my recipes over a little at a time in this category.)

If you haven't noticed, I started putting every recipe I make on my blog.

Hard or simple I want to share the recipes I make with YOU!! 

Now you can try something new, or maybe even just be reminded of something simple that you haven't made for a long time.

These recipes are split up by labels....check out the right column of the blog to see these different labels, and see what you can find. Look at them all by clicking on RECIPE, or look for something specific, i.e. chicken, hamburger, desserts, crock-pot dishes, stove-top foods to help keep your kitchen cooler and many more labels!

 Appetizers  Chicken  Cookies  Crockpot  Desserts  Ground Beef   

Homemade  Kitchen Tips   Our Favorites  Snack  Taco  Weekly Menus

Enjoy, Share, and Add them to your cookbook!

About Me

My name is Stephanie Wright.

I am a believer of Jesus Christ and that ONLY through his death and resurrection we can have a newness of life and an eternity in Heaven.

TJ and I have been married since May of 2002. And in June of 2009 we became official parents when "Monkey" and "Bear" entered our home, world and lives. We love them so much, and don't know what we would do without them. They are the biggest blessing we have ever been given. Monkey borth 2004, and Bear born 2006. We adopted them through the state, finalized as of December 29, 2009. We are so happy we can't wait to add more children to our family!

In 2010 we signed up for foster care and maybe if God wills it he will allow us to adopt one or more of the children that get brought our way. We are excited to see what He has in store for us.

Also in 2010 I officially started homeschooling our boys. I've looked into different materials and have picked some things to get us started. I am excited to see how God helps me work all these things out together!

Thank you for joining us through the journey of our life. We are glad to have you with us and taking part in our activities, daily adventures, and food choices! Please leave us a comment so we know you are out there and enjoying part of this blog.

*For the sake of privacy I am going to start using my children's code names...i.e. Monkey and Bear. :)


 

Science Experiments

 --Science Experiments--

How much air in your lungs?
Fizz
Carbon Dioxide
Growth Experiment- Corn

Cell Model
Ocean in a Bottle

Water Experiment 2 

Water Experiment 3
Water Experiment 4 
Water Experiment 5 
Water Experiment 6
Water Experiment 7 Soaking Colors 

Balloon Rocket
Will it Float?
Air Experiment 1 
Air Experiment 2 
Air Experiment 3 -warm air
Air Experiment 4 -cold air
Air Experiment-musical pipes

 

Alphabet Photography(Letter Art)

 Visit my new photography blog!

Click on the link to view your letter art options.
Visit my collage page to see how you can create your own word art with these letters!
Then, use the paypal link to purchase these letter files.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z