Book Release

Would you like to purchase a wonderful children's book about library etiquette?  My book is available now online!  It's official release date is in August; but you may order now. I am soooo excited!!!!!

Order HERE.

Teaching Reading

My goal for Aaliyah was to teach her the basics of reading before DeSean was born. With a little bit of encouragement (thanks Maria!) we succeeded!  We played matching games and "Go Fish!" with alphabet flashcards to teach letter recognition and phonics. I am currently using Hooked on Phonics -  primarily because I found a set at an unbeatable price (FREE!).  It was missing most of the extras like flashcards, cassette tapes/cd's, and some of the additional readers; but our local library has a set that I borrow when I need them. We are currently going through the second book for the second time. (The second time through we read only the review pages -timed, stories, and play the word games.)

I made my own flashcards; but Aaliyah was still having a little trouble with spelling so I "upgraded" them in color.

I have two sets-   one set of everything in black and one set color coded.  All the vowels are red - every word must have a vowel - so she knows that if there are no red letters in her word then she has misspelled it.
All beginning blends are in blue and ending blends in green.  Some vowel dipthongs (gliding vowels)  are also in red.

Yes, our little man is walking around the house...

and trying to help his sister get it right!

Notice Cassidy in the background listening.  I am always amazed by how much she picks up!

 

We still sometimes have trouble with distinguishing "d" from "b", but overall...I think she is doing pretty well.

P.S.  Aaliyah will be turning 5 years old this month and Cassidy will be turning 3.  I am excited about their birthdays and I haven't even spilled the beans about their gifts....yet.  (I am horrible at keeping secrets!)

Maybe these ideas will be a blessing to someone.
Until next time,

Ressurection Sunday

We LOVE celebrating the Ressurection of our Savior on Easter morning! Something about Easter every year just make me want to get an early start to the day...believe me - that is saying A LOT!  Here are a few pics from our Easter.

Ten Minute Challenge!

10 Things I can do in 10 minutes!

1. The girls hair - 10 minutes each!

2. Tidy my home.  Often if it's been a busy day - my home reflects that...so I will set the timer to alarm when my husband is scheduled to get off work.  When it sounds I give each of the girls a job, re-start the timer for 10 minutes and I start a 10 minute cleaning blitz.  This way when Daddy gets home the house looks somewhat peaceful.

3. A workout.  I love the knock-out body kickboxing version from the 10 minute solutions workout series. See their website HERE.

4. Make a smoothie.  Often I do this directly after my workouts.

 

trimhealthymama.com website

5.  Clean my bathroom.  It doesn't take long for this room especially to become a mess.

6.  Fold a load of laundry.

7.  Read a book with the kids.

8.  Call or write a note to a friend.  I am horrible when it comes to keeping in touch.  This is my new challenge for myself.  It really has helped, except in yesterday's case...I called three friends and no one was home.

9. Walk my dog.  Exercise for her and a breath of fresh air for me.

 

 

10.  Blog!  Fun, Fun, Fun.  Write a post and read a couple from others' blogs.

Couldn't resist...This is an old photo of me and Aaliyah that Raymond took.

Until next time,

 

Hair loss and Hormones


I have posted about this before, so lets just consider this an update.  After I have a baby I always loose a lot of hair, mainly around my temples...I am talking slick bald like a baby's bottom.  I usually wear headbands or hats to cover it.  I thought it was just genetics because my aunt who nursed her babies experienced the same thing;  but I may have found the culprit. 

I decided to make it a matter of prayer and about two months after I had DeSean I went into the health food store and told the lady my issue.  She said it sounded like a thyroid problem and recommended I take Kelp supplements (I already had some kelp powder at home!)  I don't know if this was the total problem for sure; but you can see a huge difference.  The first picture is after it started to grow back.  The second shows how much fell out altogether after I started using the kelp.

2011 about six months after Cassidy was born.

 


2014 five months after DeSean was born.

Hope this helps somebody.
Until next time,

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all and your loved ones are doing well.  I am enjoying my Valentine's day. 

How do you like my photo for the back cover of my book?  I had about 15 to choose from and this I thought made me look "approachable" and happy.  I had intended to straighten my hair then curl it; but I am glad I didn't because it was extremely windy and cold that day so I am sure I would have looked a mess! 
Hubby and kiddos are doing well.  So thankful for the family God has given me.  Raymond and I were talking the other night about important choices that we have made in the past that we are glad about.  Both of us concluded that it seems that some of the small ones have turned out to be the most important. 




My challenge for you today is to make good small choices!  They make a big impact on your life in the long run!

2013 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Church Family,


Looking back over 2013 brings a flood of memories to mind. Some are good. Some are bad; but each memory represents a lesson learned.

We are currently averaging a solid 30 on Sunday mornings and our Thursday evening attendance has doubled. Several souls have been saved; a few baptized. One couple who had been living together for over five years decided to get married. Quite a few missionaries have come through and been such a blessing to our people; and our L.A.F. activities (Lighthouse After-church fellowships) continue to be a blessing to our people. Once every two months we have our L.A.F. services. Some people come to the service visibly heavy hearted, but it is so amazing to see them loosen up and the burdens seemingly melt away after some good preaching, good fellowship, and good food. Sometimes we even have to start giving hints so people will pack up and go home!

We have also had a few interesting people visit our services and one interesting person nearly visited; but I gladly took him back where I picked him up from after his unacceptable behavior on our church van. Everything seemed fine that morning when he got on the van until I picked up one couple who attends our church pretty faithfully. He said, “Oh, no! You pick those wicked people up! Those evil people go to your church. No! Take me home now!.” Then he turned to them and started threatening to kill them and kill the baby that the young lady is expecting. I suspect that his behavior was influenced by drugs or alcohol. After all that excitement I had to stand up and preach to our people. It was a little bit of a challenge to get back in the “Spirit”; but I believe the Lord blessed that day. We had a really good Sunday with several visitors and some have returned every Sunday since.

One sad memory I have is the death of a young man whom I invited to church a couple of years ago. He finally attended our church last summer and seemed to enjoy the services. I continued to visit him and try and encourage him in the Lord, but he eventually fell away. Well, lst month we found out that the young man was shot and killed in a neighboring town. So sad; but I can’t help but wonder how differently his life would have ended had he given it to the Lord.

Family News and Prayer requests:

Everyone in our family is doing well. Me, my wife, and the kids are all in good health and excited about what the Lord will do in our family as well as in the church this year. Please continue to pray with us about the following:

1. A tractor to keep our land maintained.

2. Provisions for the nursery. Our people have done a great job in giving for that and it has come a long way; but we still ask you to pray for our nursery as we select workers for it and such.

3. Wisdom regarding our ministry for the children.

In His service,

Pastor Raymond Beckles