June 1- The Beginning of A New Adventure

Today, my family and I were able to start the process of moving into the Nipomo, CA area.  We are so excited that God has provided a house that suits our family's lifestyle.

When I look at the beautiful view of the mountains from our backyard, I am reminded about how awesome God is.  I love that I can go one way and see the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and then go the other way and see the marvelous views of the mountains.  Both have their own beauty and I am so thankful to be able to see them.

As you can see from the first picture, my family and I are going to have a pretty awesome view of the beautiful mountains from our back yard.  The majority of the year these mountains have a brown color to them because of the lack of rain.  Even though they are brown, they are still beautiful. For me, to be able to wake up to this view every morning is going to be a blessing to me.

The second picture is of my two girls, hanging like monkeys, from the bar that is at our house.  I have a feeling by the time we go to move from this house that that bar is going to be pretty worn out.  Kristy and Abby are so excited about being able to live here.  Keith and I are happy that they feel comfortable there.

We will be living on 3 acres which we will be sharing with our landlord who lives next door.  The house that we are renting is the home where our landlord grew up.  Hearing some of the stories that he has told us about growing up there has been pretty awesome!  Right next door to us is the family Christmas tree farm.  If you look behind Kristy and Abby you will see the lines of Christmas trees that are growing.  It is really awesome to see these trees grow and to know that someday that they will make a family very happy as they are being decorated for the Christmas season.

This is going to be a new adventure for us.  It is the first time that we will be living in the semi-country.  We are excited to start this new chapter and to see where God is going to lead our family from here.  I know that every time we step out our back door and see the mountains that we will be reminded what an AWESOME, MIGHTY, SPECTACULAR GOD WE SERVE!!!!

So Many New Things

Well, it has been a while since I have written anything.  There are so many new things that are going on here at the Sheldon home.  

Probably the most exciting thing is....we are moving to Nipomo!  We are thanking God right now that He has provided a suitable home for us that will accommodate all the members of our family....human and furry.  We are going to take the entire month of June to move due to our very busy schedule.

One great thing about Nipomo (besides the breathtaking views from my kitchen window) is the fact that my family and I are going to be able to minister to a girl from Thailand for the 2012-2013 school year.  We are going to blessed to have Tong come and stay with us for the year as she pursues her studies at Nipomo High.  We have missed having an exchange student with us and are thankful to the Lord that He has once again given us this opportunity.  In order to get ready for Tong's stay with us, the girls and I are going to do a unit study on the country of Thailand.

Our whole family (well maybe not Keith, only because it is not his thing) is excited about the 2012 Olympic Games that are going to be held in London, England.  The girls and I are going to unit studies not only about the Olympic Games, but we are also going to do a short one on the host country which is England.  I love that through homeschooling we can explore the world and the events that are going on, without having to keep to someone else's schedule.

Kristy is in her second training season as a 4th level sanctioned gymnast.  She is hard at work getting herself ready for the competition season to start in a few months.  I have seen so many changes in her gymnastics and am so very proud of her.  She has also been busy with 4H.  She is entering her rabbit Thunderbolt in the county fair this year.  She is busy learning all that she needs to know to participate.  She is also entering some crafts that she did in her 4H craft project.  She still finds time to hang with her friends and have fun.  Above is a picture of her and her friend Kassidy.  This picture was taken at the gym while Kristy was waiting to have her pictures done.  We had just spent a great fun filled day with Kassidy and her family.

Abby is a busy little girl who just enjoys everything about life.  She is working hard at finishing up all her Kindergarten work.  She is also in gymnastics.  She is only in recreational gymnastics right now, but I think the competition bug is working inside of her.  She is constantly trying to do things that Kristy is doing.  I have a feeling that in a few years I will be the mother of two competitive gymnasts!  For now, she has been a trooper by spending a lot of time at the gym (playing on either Miss Jordonna's I-pad or watching Netflix on Mommy's Kindle Fire) while her sister is busy training.  Abby is also going to be entering some of her craft things in the local fair.  She is very excited about it.

Keith has been busy on outage hours.  All I can say is that I will glad when this outage is over.  It seems like it has been going on forever.  It has been a real strain on all of us.  Especially Keith, because of the amount of work he has been having to do, plus the projects that he is trying to accomplish at the house.  We are thankful for the job and the fact that Keith has remained healthy and strong to be able to accomplish it.

As for myself, I have been busy keeping up with the house, homeschooling my kids, being involved in the kids' activities, etc.  I am also in the middle of classes that I am taking to get my degree in Christian studies.  I am thankful that God has given me the health and the drive to get all accomplished that I have on my plate.

Well, I will close for now.  I will try to update more frequently

-Tiffany (for the whole Sheldon clan)

Our New Family Member

This past Sunday, May 6, we welcomed a new family member into the crazy Sheldon Clan!  We would like to introduce Thunderbolt.  Thunderbolt is a Netherland Dwarf rabbit.  There are many different varieties of this rabbit....Thunderbolt's variety is "Otter".  Thunderbolt is Kristy's rabbit that she will be showing at 4H events and fairs.  She is very excited about taking on this new adventure.  Abby is also in the rabbit project with 4H, but for right now she is just learning the basics about rabbits.  I am very glad that my children have the opportunity to be in 4H, to learn about the world they live in and how to make it a better place!!!

Kristy and Abby are also involved in a craft project with 4H.  They enjoy making different crafts.  In fact, some of their crafts are going to be entered in the Santa Barbara County Fair, which they are very excited about.

We have a lot of activities coming up, which I am hoping to post pictures on here after they occur.  This coming Saturday we will be participating in 4H Exhibit Day.  The kids will each be entering learning poster among some other stuff.  We are very excited.

Well, I will close for now.

Let's Try This Again

Well, here I am again trying to blog.  I hope that this time I will be a success in doing so.  This blog is going to be dedicated to telling all of you about our family life here in California, our homeschooling journey, and what God is doing in our lives.  I hope that all of you enjoy.

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

-Tiffany