Gathered thoughts

Gold Star Spouse Day ⭐️

Gold Star Spouses Day is observed every year on April 5. It is a way to honor and grieve with the families of lost or wounded military service members. It was once known as Gold Star Wives Day, but has now become inclusive of all family members — male or female — who have lost loved ones through service in the military. This day lets these families know that we remember their sacrifice, and honor their loss and that they are loved ❤️

A little history ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gold Star initiative was started during World War One, where families would hang service flags with blue stars for their loved ones that were serving in the military . They were displayed in a front window and there was usually one for each family member that was serving. If the family member died, the stars would be replaced by gold stars as a public display of the price the family has paid for freedom.

In 1945 , First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt established the Golden Star Wives Association and was one of its founding members.Not long after it was formed , the government approved the Golden Star Lapel Button which was presented to spouses and families of those who have lost a member through military service.

Countless men and women dedicate their lives to serving our country every day. Their families make that commitment as well. Imagine saying goodbye to a loved one with no certainty of their return. This is what military families have to go through every time their loved one is called for duty. Wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters of our heroes are left here to keep daily life as normal as they can so when their loved ones return they can step right back into their life here.

In our American Girl Doll History Class this year, we learned about Molly McIntire . She is a historical American Girl Doll and her story takes place at the end of WW2.

In her story, her dad is serving in the war and her mom is working at the Red Cross.

Her neighbor , Mrs.Gilford , is helping Mollys family out during this time. Mrs. Gilford has her only son serving in the military.

There is a part in the movie where Mollys mom comes home and is making a casserole to take to a friend in their community and Molly asks her why she is home .We find out that the casserole is for Mrs.Gilford and that her son has died .

The video clip is below and is worth watching .. this was such a hard moment ⭐️ start about 2 min in .

American Girl does a terrific job in the books describing this time in history.

If you know someone who has lost a loved one in active duty , reach out to them and let them know that they are loved and being prayed for today .

If you don’t know someone, then pray for the families that have lost loved ones ❤️

And if you are a family member that has lost a loved one .. I’m so incredibly sorry for your loss. I am praying for you and your family today to have peace and moments of joy as you remember your loved one. I’m also so thankful for your family’s sacrifice that we as a country have freedom because of those sacrifices ❤️

Disneyland

Docking Bay 7 ~ Cold Brew Black Caf

Cold Brew Black Caf @dockingbay7 is so good!
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We finally had the opportunity to try this when we were at Disneyland at Christmas and oh it did not disappoint!
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It is a cold brew coffee topped with sweet cream cheese foam and chocolate puffs.. think cocoa puffs cereal. Yumm!
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A tip if you order one .. ask for light ice.. it was hard to drink and get the chocolate puffs and cold brew in a single sip, the ice kept blocking it. If there is less ice then it is easier to get the full taste and you want the full taste!
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We also loved the price.. it was around $6. It was one of our favorite treats!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

faith

Holy Week

What is Holy Week? Growing up , I never really heard the term Holy Week. We celebrated Easter and talked about the sacrifice that was made but that’s where it stopped . As I’ve gotten older , I have wanted to learn more about Holy Week ,lent and fasting. Some of these special moments and observations around my faith.I am still learning and by no means an expert but it’s been so good to actually learn what they are .

Holy Week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. It is a week to reflect on the great sacrifice that Jesus took for each of us on the cross.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is ⬇️ …

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

…. notice that it says All of our trespasses and that He forgave us and canceled our record of debt!!! Praise God!

I pray this week as you remember the greatest gift that God gave us through His son Jesus that you will remember that all that he did, He did for you and for each of us. He willingly went to the cross . He did that so that we would be able to one day be with him in heaven.

This week ,I encourage you to spend time in prayer thanking God for this tremendous gift. If you don’t know God , this is a great time to talk to him and tell him hey I don’t know you and I don’t know if you are real I hear what others say but it’s hard to understand or to believe. If you are there can you make yourself known to me? Show me and help my unbelief . Then watch how He answers .He will❤️

And for those who feel like you could never be forgiven or your too far gone .. if God can redeem my life, and he did in a mighty way, then he can do the same for you! What better week to accept that forgiveness and walk in freedom.

Gathered thoughts

International Children’s Book Day

Today is the perfect day to cozy up with your favorite children’s book and read to your littles❤️
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A little history ➡️
International Children’s Book Day is celebrated on the birthday of the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. He wrote some of our favorite children’s stories, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘The Little Mermaid’ , ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and ‘The Princess and the Pea’.

Gathered thoughts

Happy Mermaid Day 🧜‍♀️

Happy Mermaid Day 🧜‍♀️
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Those who have birthdays today must be part mermaid right? Our beautiful niece celebrates her birthday today so we think it’s totally true!!

Gathered thoughts

Happy First of Spring 🌸

Today is the first official day of Spring🌷Time to plan gardens, update yards, get fresh bark, clean out the coops and enjoy the sunshine ☀️

Gathered thoughts

Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️

Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️

Wear green and celebrate today

homeschooling

Happy PI Day 3.14 ⭐️

This is one of my favorites ❤️ Pi Day !

Yesterday in class we celebrated by measuring circles of all sizes, watched a fun video that explained Pi and measured Oreos .. Yumm! Ofcourse they all measured out to Pi so that was fun to see.

My favorite activity was to have the whole class stand up and form a circle. We then measured our diameter and multiplied it by Pi (3.14) which gave us the circumference. We then divided the circumference by the diameter and it equaled Pi . So fun!

I also challenged the students to write 3.14 on a white piece of paper and head to the mirror.. it should read PI.E as long as your four is a closed 4 .

I hope you have fun today learning Pi ⭐️

Hotel, Review, travel, Universal

Loews Royal Pacific Resort


Loews Royal Pacific Resort @universalorlandohotels was such a beautiful resort 🌴

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It made us feel like we were stepping into a tropical getaway. The grounds, hotel lobby and rooms were absolutely beautiful. 

We loved the layout of the room and all the special touches . We had a two queen room that said slept 5 but it really only slept 4 with a chair that no one could sleep in . So that was a bummer but thankfully they have rollaway you can add .

We also really loved the text to housekeeping. It was such a wonderful way to communicate what we needed , and it was delivered right to our room and  left outside door . We really appreciated this feature and totally think more hotels should do this. 

There were a few reason we choose to stay on property . The location of being able to walk to @unistudios and the free transportation was one of the main reasons we choose this specific hotel. We didn’t want to have to pay parking and we really didn’t want to have to drive . 

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We also knew we wanted to purchase the unlimited pass to walk onto rides. We were there for only two days and didn’t want to miss anything . The value of the passes completely makes it worth it! The passes are usually around $129 per person so it was over a $600 value for our family for free! 

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By staying on property, we also got a few other perks like early admission and several fun ways of transportation that were connected and easily accessible. We would definitely stay here again 🌴

homeschooling

Sight Word Recognition


This was a fun activity to work on for sight word recognition. Make a sheet of various sight words and coordinate dot stickers with the same sight word . As you call out the sight word , the students will find the sticker , then locate on their paper and cover up the word with the sticker.


This was a bit of a learning curve .. for my own little one I gave her the whole sticker sheet and that was way to difficult to try to find the word. For my class , I decided to do it in stages with one strip of stickers at a time. That worked so much better!