2014: A Year in Review

I wrote a similar post to this one on my house blog, Organized and Simplified. You can find that post here.

What I am going to talk about here is less house, more personal. 2014 wasn't the greatest of years. In January, my dad was diagnosed for the second time with cancer. This time, a routine scan revealed he has stage three colon cancer. He went through chemo for the second time, and radiation for the first time. His port became infected and he was hospitalized. He is now awaiting more news to see if he may have to undergo more chemo. This summer, we finally got pregnant with our second child, but sadly, we lost the child two months into the pregnancy. We buried three of my relatives, and two of my husband's relatives were hospitalized. One is doing well, the other is still in the hospital as I write. To say it has been a trying year would be an understatement. In spite of all the storms, there are a few rays of sunshine we can be thankful for. It almost feels like a cop-out to write this, but it is something for which we are thankful. We are all alive and, for the most part, healthy. We have good jobs that provide well for us. We have a home we love and appreciate. My dad is still with us. We have a new nephew whom we love and look forward to spoiling.

Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass- it's about learning to dance in the rain. -Unknown.

We've seen our share of rain, and although it has taken its toll, the Lord blessed me with a husband I can lean on and will be there when the waters get rough. And more importantly, through Bible study and daily devotions, I can feel Him working in my heart again. Is it well with my soul? Not completely. But I can definitely say I'm feeling more encouraged and more hopeful these days.

I thought instead of writing my typical "end of the year" narrative, I would share some pictures of my favorite things that happened this year. My nephew is certainly on the list, but I don't like to share pics of other people's kiddos without permission. These are also in no particular order.

1. Emorie and I took these pictures as a surprise Father's Day gift for Michael. She spilled the beans less than 24 hours later, but he did a good job acting surprised. And he loved them!

2. I ran three 5Ks and was signed up to run a half marathon, but had to cancel. I was bit by a dog, had to get stitches, and couldn't run the race with stitches in my leg. I will be running more races in 2015. 

3. Emorie brought home a gorgeous school picture- probably the best one ever. 

4. Fall was absolutely gorgeous here this year, 

5. I got a new sister-in-law when Michael's step-brother got married. This handsome man accompanied me to the wedding. 

6. The cutest little Elsa, ever. 

7. This. No description needed. 

8. The year of the selfie. I must have a hundred of these things. Geez. But I did have fun taking them. 

9. We went to the park for a fun afternoon and got caught in a torrential downpour. 

10. This pretty little girl makes every year special and wonderful, but our Mama School experiences this summer made some lasting memories. 

I'm not stupid enough to sit here and say "2014 was pretty awful and 2015 can't be much worse." It could be a lot worse. Instead I am going to say "2015 will be a better year," Why? Because I know who holds tomorrow. And tomorrow is, you guessed it, 2015.

"Better than a Hallelujah"

"We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah"
-Amy Grant 


I'm trying, folks. I really am. Prayers are needed and appreciated. Thanks. 

A laugh for you.

Source: Things children do that are unacceptable for adults to do by epoddle on Rumble


I can totally relate! My daughter is three and I have experienced all of these at some point. Enjoy the laughs.

Gettin' philosophical: dreams don't work unless you do.

"Dreams don't work unless you do."

A co-worker of mine has this displayed in her classroom. This is not only excellent advice, but it directly relates to my life. Many people in my family were taught while growing up that nothing good comes easily. If you wanted it, you had to work for it. And if it was worth getting, working hard wasn't a problem. Hard work was heavily valued, and so was determination. Both of those things go hand in hand.

Hard work played into my life majorly. I knew as a child I wanted to be a writer, but I had a persistent, almost nagging voice in the back of my mind trying to persuade me to be a teacher. I managed to convince myself not to listen, that I wanted no part of teaching. I never could completely silence the voice. After two and a half years as a journalist, I realized I truly wasn't happy and the only think that could make me happy was to teach.

So, I became a teacher assistant so I could catch a glimpse of what I might be getting myself into. I also enrolled in NC State University's Master of Arts in Teaching program. After working hard all day at the elementary school, I'd drive to Raleigh and work hard in class until 9:30 at night. My two and a half years of grad school were some of the most stressful, overwhelming years of my life. I worked hard. As a new wife, I often didn't see my husband until 10:00 at night. It was tough, but at graduation, I knew I'd done the right thing. My first week as a student teacher? I knew I'd made the right choice.

Ten years ago, if you had told me I would teach middle school English, I would have laughed at you. If you had told me ten years ago, I'd be married and be the mother of a little girl, I would have laughed at you. But, here I am. And I couldn't imagine my life any other way.

I've come a long way so far. First and foremost, the love of a patient God and his hand guiding me had everything to do with it, but some other things also had positive affects. Hard work had a lot to do with it. Determination had a lot to do with it.  A supportive family and supportive friends had a lot to do with it.

The entire purpose of this post was to expound on how far I have come and how grateful I am for having gotten this far. I am not bragging, I am simply reminding myself to be grateful for the journey.

It is my hope these same core values that are ingrained within me will also be ingrained in my own child's being. Dream big, but understand that unless you're willing to work for it, it isn't going to happen.

I don't always kill a buck, but when I do...

It's with the front end of my van. *sigh*

No one was hurt, and Bertha (our van) only has a damaged bumper and a busted radiator. Our van isn't as damaged as it could have been.

If you prayed for me today, thanks! Things certainly could have been worse.

A little something fun to start off your week!

Maybe they should change the quote "dance like no one is watching" to dance like you are three. Enjoy!





On another note, I have finally gotten around to writing and posting my fall house tour. You should really go check that out.

Coincidence? I think not.

It's funny how the Lord always gives us what we need when we're needing it the most.

If you are one of the few people who has made it known they are uncomfortable with my talking about my miscarriage, you should leave this post now and discontinue reading. I am not "whining," or "being dramatic" or "trying to get attention." I am currently going through something heartbreaking, and talking about it is the only thing getting me through. Keep your hurtful comments to yourself- if it bothers you, I am pretty sure there is a large "X" at the top of your browser. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me share what's on my heart today.

I've had a difficult time lately- each day, my spirit and body become more aware that my child is gone. On Christmas Eve, I would have been 20 weeks pregnant. Halfway there. Instead, I'll celebrate Christmas with my child and husband, and instead of looking forward to our new child, I'll be missing this one. I could sit here and expound on each and every "would be milestone" that is going to be difficult for me. Instead, I will talk about what the Lord gave me yesterday.

Yesterday, my devotion was about handling grief, and what to do when people close to you are grieving. The devotion talked about the Jewish tradition of the Shiva, in which they grieve for their loved ones for seven days. Any visitors to the home within those days does not speak unless one of the hosts speaks to them first. The families of the deceased simply sit there in quiet, comforted only by one another's presence. Words are not necessary.

The accompanying Scripture was from John, the story of Lazarus. I immediately read about the grief of Jesus for his friend, and how he wept for his friend.

Too often, when someone close to us loses someone, we try to almost take on the role of the Lord and explain what can't be explained. We don't know why death happens. We don't know why divorce happens. We don't know why miscarriage happens. Silence should be enough. We don't need to say anything because there isn't anything we can say. I've been guilty of this so many times- just wanting to say something because I didn't know what to say. A simple "I'm sorry," or "I'm praying for you" should have been it.

I've struggled lately to feel the Lord's presence. I know he is still here and he is hurting along with me. Some horrible part of me just wants to close off, shut down and just grieve. I'm trying hard to stay positive and to just trust Him, but this is hard. I should have thought about how Jesus raised Lazarus and how if he can raise Lazarus from the dead, he can get me through this. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't think about that. He also makes the statement in this passage that through Lazarus' rest, God will be brought glory. I don't know what his plan for me is. I don't know why my baby was called home. I know somehow he'll be glorified through it. I know these things, even though it is hard for me to understand it at the moment.

Please keep praying. I need it more than I ever have.

November 8- weekend

Friday was a good day- it was the perfect end to a rotten week. We spent some time with my parents and my great-uncle and great-aunt, who are in town. We love visiting with family, especially when we don't get to see them often.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Miss Emorie wanted to go outside and play, so we bundled up and headed outdoors. We have been seriously neglecting our flower beds, so we took the time to clean them out while we were playing. We got two and a half beds cleaned out, and have one and a half to go. We will finish those on Tuesday. I also plan on cleaning out our container gardens and replacing them with some fall color.

Miss Emorie went to her grandmother's Saturday evening, so the hubs and I could have a date. We went to P.F. Chang's. We had a reservation, but due to problems in the kitchen, it took an hour for us to get our food. The manager ended up comping our meal. We had a delicious dinner that ended up only costing us $3. On the way back home, we picked up sweet girl and headed home.

On Sunday, I was running a fever and not feeling very well. I am almost feeling better now, and almost positive this is the result of some nasty virus. I am hoping the husband and sweet girl are spared the fever!

Weekend recap- November 2

What a busy but blessed weekend! We started off our weekend with a teacher workday for me, followed by Halloween festivities later on that evening with my sweet little Elsa. I know you've already seen the pics, but I just can't help but post this one again:


Saturday, Mr. B and I went to help his step-brother celebrate his wedding day. The wedding was gorgeous and we very much enjoyed being there to help celebrate. We didn't get to stay very long, since we had to go pick up our little lady from my Mom's, but we still had a great time. Here is a picture of my with my handsome man.



Of course, one doesn't celebrate a wedding without remembering their own wedding day. Almost 6 years have passed since I became Mrs. B.


When you get married, you promise to be there for each other "for better or for worse." We have had lots of "better," but unfortunately 2014 brought a whole lot of "worse." Truth be told, without the Lord, and without my man, I'd have never survived. We have faith that the best truly is yet to come, and everything we are currently enduring will truly change for the better.

Happy Halloween!

Emorie had a blast yesterday. After choosing four different Halloween costumes, she finally settled on Elsa from the movie "Frozen." I guess you can say we are a little obsessed with "Frozen" around here. I tried to talk her into being Anna since her dress is prettier, but Emorie wasn't having any of it. We saw several other Elsas when we went to the fire department, and several of my friends posted pictures of their own Elsas on my Facebook feed.

She wouldn't stop singing "Let It Go" long enough to get her picture taken. LOL. 

Waiting at the fire department. She was all for meeting Sparky and taking a picture of him until we got there. Then she was scared and wanted nothing to do with him. 

A little girl and her daddy. Love them so much. 

We didn't go trick-or-treating. We went to the fire department, the police department, and then to her grandparents' houses. She had a great time, ate more candy than she has probably had all year, and then refused to take off her costume when we got home. 

Just a few pictures this week.

We didn't really have an eventful week this week. Michael went to Myrtle Beach for the week for a fire conference, and Emorie and I held down the fort here at home. It was a busy week for both of us and we have been worn out.

My big girl is learning how to write her name. I only helped her with the lowercase E. 

A beautiful fall day involves playing outside :)

And look how big my girl is getting;

A family fun day with a little creativity thrown in

Forgive me, but I've been behind on my posts as we have had a difficult time lately. Life is slowly returning to normal, and I'm doing all I can to keep it normal.

This weekend, my husband was not on call. We asked Emorie what she wanted to do. She wanted to go to the Greensboro Children's Museum. When we arrived, we found out they were having a fall festival. The museum was serving cider in the Edible School yard, having puppet shows in the library across the street, presentations at the historical museum, and Art Quest was having fall crafts.

Our daughter is 3 and we weren't sure how much she'd like the historical society, so we played at the museum, went to the puppet show, and then went over to Art Quest.

Art Quest was so cool. I never knew it existed before. At Art Quest, which was free, by the way, kids create different art projects and learn while they are creating. Emorie made a rag doll out of paper, fabric and yarn, and then she made art prints using leaves, fruit, flowers and paint. It was a lot of fun for her and we enjoyed it, too. 

It was a fun weekend and I am glad we let Emorie choose the activity! 

Be still and know...

For the past four days, this verse has been my constant. I actually read this verse the morning of September 2, 2014, when I found out Emorie was going to be a big sister. We had two ultrasounds, the first one showing me being two weeks off. Two weeks later, we had another ultrasound. The baby measured only one week larger, but the heart was beating. I felt hopeful.

Then, I began experiencing complications. On about Wednesday of last week, I could no longer deny something was wrong. I went in for an emergency ultrasound on Friday, only to discover the baby had not grown and the heartbeat was slowing. My heart sank. I began calling family members and friends. I posted a message to our friends and family on Facebook: "It's hard to say goodbye when you never got to say hello. Please pray for us during this difficult time."

On Saturday, the contractions began and I truly knew it was over. My body is still aching, but the pain is slowing. My heart is still aching, but I am beginning to feel a little bit better. While at this point I am unsure what will happen next, and whether or not we will attempt to have more children, I am sure of this. I am definitely not alone.

To the lady who saw me crying in the waiting room and asked if she could pray for me, thank you. To the ultrasound nurse who held me and let me cry, thank you. To the doctor who sat with me and told me not to apologize for my tears, thank you.  So many of my family members, co-workers, and church family members have sent messages, cards, and have called, and for that I thank you. My coworkers gave me a card and a gift card. My teammates prepared my classroom for testing so I wouldn't have to do it when I returned to school.

I never realized before how many of my friends and family members have experienced this before. I miscarried Emorie's twin, but chose to instead dwell on having one healthy baby remaining. I really didn't feel the loss until after Emorie was a year old. This time though, it's completely different.

I don't write this entry to seek attention. I don't write it to be graphic or to share too much with others. I write it because miscarriage is something people don't typically talk about. Talking about it is the only thing helping me right now. Maybe someone someday will be in the same place, will find this entry and it will help them. Maybe when things are better, I'll read this again and realize how far the Lord has brought me.

I have read numerous blog entries from other mothers who have experienced loss. I've spent time talking to my family members, church family members, and friends who have experienced miscarriages. I am hurting but not alone. Keep us in your prayers. Our hearts are broken but we will be OK.

And God is still God.

Shopping guide: Growin' up in God's Word

My family is Christian. I grew up in church and so did my husband. So, you can imagine it's important to us that our daughter be raised in church as well.  Unfortunately, our church attendance as of late has not been as good as it should be. We are working to get back on track.

I have been faithfully reading devotions, reading my Bible and been more actively praying daily since June. I am not bragging about this, just stating it here to keep me accountable. A lot of things have happened in my life this year, and most of those things were a huge wake-up call for me. A lot of bad things happened this year, but some good things happened, too.

I'll talk more about the good and bad later, but I want to use this time to blog about some books we purchased for our daughter. My little girl is 3. Some of the books and materials we have purchased for her are a bit mature for her at the moment, but will be perfect in a few short years.

She has a toddler Bible. It is a board book, and she loves the pictures and Bible stories within it. She carries this Bible to church with her.  It's actually recommended for ages 2-4 and I purchased it for about $10 from Wal-Mart. It's perfect for her now, but when she turns four next summer, I'd like to get her one that's a little more mature. I haven't done much shopping around yet, so I'm not sure what we might get.

A few years ago, my librarian uncle gave Emorie a Books-A-Million gift card for Christmas. My kiddo is not short on books, for which I am grateful! We went together so she could choose something. We got some age-appropriate story books, and we also picked up this one-year children's Bible story book. It's a little too mature for her, but I've found if you explain the story to her, she understands it. Also, if we read a story she is already familiar with, she understands it just fine. 

Right now, you can buy this for less than $10 on Amazon. 

We have a book sale that comes to our school about every other month. They usually have some really nice things for low prices. I've often bought Christmas gifts from them. This past February, I found a copy of The Love Dare One-Year Devotional for Couples, which I quickly bought for me and the hubs to peruse. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the children's one-year devotional book, Jesus Calling.  I realize this is a bit too mature for my girl now, but in a few years, it will be perfect. Currently, you can get the book for $10.30 on Amazon. I think I paid $12 for it. I am so excited about reading this with her someday soon. 

Do any of you have some recommendations for Bible story books and kids' Bibles? I'd love to hear about them. 

Good Saturday morning to you!

Thanks so much for praying for my sweet Daddy- he is at home now, not completely back to normal, but on the mend. We are extremely blessed, as most people who have septic shock do not survive. That alone should indicate the power of prayer.

Please keep him in your prayers, as he is still recovering and isn't himself again just yet.

This school year is off to a good start. I have a great group of young men and young women, but am struggling to get back into the swing of things. Sadly. my home is what is going by the wayside. I will be spending my Saturday giving my home some much-needed attention :) Today it is raining, so I will not feel guilty for staying in the house :)

Please visit my house blog, http://www.organizedandsimplified.blogspot.com. I will be posting some projects on there really soon.

Answered Prayers

If you've been praying for my Daddy, I thank you. He was admitted to ICU last Friday, due to a high fever and a very low blood pressure. He was found to have strep infection in his blood (but no strep throat), so doctors began several rounds of antibiotics.

Further investigation showed that his port-a-cath from his chemo had become infected. Doctors were planning to remove it next month anyway, but they went ahead and removed it today. He is now in a private room, but will have to have antibiotics through IV for ten days. We don't know yet when he will get to come home, but we know he will likely not be kept for those ten days.

He is in good spirits but ready to go home. Please continue to pray for us. Things are already much better than they were last week.

Love and blessings,

The Boone family

PS. Another prayer has been answered, but I will expand on that one more soon :)

Fall is coming!

Some of you will disagree with my post title and say fall is already here. Well, this girl lives in hot, humid North Carolina, where the temps are still pushing 85. I may not be able to sit outdoors and comfortably wear sweaters and sip my pumpkin spice lattes just yet, but I am anxiously awaiting the days. Fall has always been my favorite holiday, which surprises some people because I'm a teacher.

Summer passed a lot faster than it usually does. I had a good summer chock full of house projects and organizing. My kiddo and I spent a lot of time together and we had a great time. I truly treasure my summers at home with my little girl. We just wrapped up our first week of school. I am excited about teaching this great group of eighth graders this year. We will have a busy school year, but I think we will have a good year.

Speaking of school, my daughter is anxious to start school. She is three, so this is still about 2 years away. I did take a picture of her on MY first day of school. We also got her a backpack and some school supplies that her nursery school class can use. I plan on taking another picture on the last day of school for comparison. Isn't she cute?

September will be a busy month for our family. We have fall revival, a baby shower, a wedding shower, and three birthdays to celebrate this month. I am very excited and look forward to celebrating each of these occasions. 

Also, we are awaiting some news on my sweet Daddy. We feel like the news will be good, but if you all could please continue praying for him, we'd really appreciate it. Until next time, hope you and yours have a magnificent weekend. 

Blessings, 

The Boone Family 

A trip to the grandparents' house

Last week, my husband actually had a few days off from work. I say "actually," because he doesn't often have them. Since it had been several months since we'd gone to my grandparents' house in WV, we decided this would be the perfect chance to get away. We loaded up the van and headed north.

We were only able to stay two nights, but we spent a lot of time with our family, enjoyed the cooler temperatures, went shopping and enjoyed my grandmother's cooking. We also took Emorie to ride on the Ridge Runner, a train that I rode as a little girl.



Emorie liked the train until the whistle blew, or until we went through the tunnel.

We then let our kiddo play on the playground until it started to rain. We had a great visit, and I wish we could do it more often.

"Happy," and a few inspired thoughts

So, I'm a little late posting this one. I realize this is old news now, but I had to write about it anyway. Unless you live under a rock, you've seen the video for, or at least heard "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

Like a lot of others, my daughter and I love this song. We love to turn it up, dance and sing to it, and just really have fun with it. This song has inspired people around the globe to create their own "Happy" videos. In fact, on "Oprah" recently, Pharrell cried tears of joy as he watched people around the globe enjoying his song.

He then thanks everyone who believed in him. Oprah comments on how something as simple as a song and a music video could be used for something so much bigger.

That comment made me think. I don't personally know Oprah, but I don't think she intended for her comment to be taken where I'm about to take it.

Her comment made me think about how God can take something small and use it for something big. As the song says, "Little is much when God is in it." What about the little slave girl being used to cure Naaman from his leprosy? What about Rahab hanging a cord in her window, resulting in her family being saved? What about Moses, a seemingly insignificant man with a speech impediment?  A little boy gave Jesus his lunch and Jesus used it to feed 5,000 people. A widow gave all the coins she had. Neither the boy or the widow understood the magnitude of what they were doing at the time. Bet they didn't know we'd still be talking about their sacrifice 2,000 plus years later, either. Most importantly, God took a tiny baby lying in a stable and used him so that all of humanity could be saved.

Little is much when God is in it. Nothing is little to God.

That small deed you did to help someone else is not small to God. That tithe check you wrote, even though your salary is small? God sees it and will use it for his good.

He can take a little and make it a lot. Most of us don't have viral videos on YouTube and very few of us will be on Oprah anytime soon, but we are still important in God's eyes. And no matter how small or insignificant we think we are, we are far from insignificant to God.

Thanks for letting me share what's on my mind today. Comments are welcome, but only respectful comments will be posted.

Gardening...and a little beginner's luck!

Last summer, we moved out of town and to a house just outside of town with a little bit of land. Although we'd both helped with a garden before, neither of us had ever planted our own. We decided to start small and learn a little, and then plant a bigger garden next year. I love tomatoes, so we planted beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes. We also planted six squash plants and four cucumber plants. We've been getting delicious results and have really enjoyed our garden. It's fun to work in it and Emorie loves learning about it.

Yes, this was all from one night. This is the most we've ever picked in one night. It's probably due to the fact that it rained two nights in a row and we didn't go to the garden for two days. 

Next year, we'll add corn, green beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes to the mix. Maybe even cantaloupe.

Build-A-Bear

My favorite kiddo had a dentist appointment this week. She has been going twice yearly since she was 2, and has never liked the dentist. She usually cries and it isn't a very pleasant experience.

We can tell she is starting to grow up, as she handled her three-year-old check up with ease this year. She did the same at the dentist. Usually, the dentist has me lie in the chair and hold Emorie in my lap. This time, she wasn't having it. She hopped up in that chair like a pro and let the dental hygienist and dentist do whatever they needed to do. She never cried or gave them the least bit of trouble. It was great.


Emorie's dentist has a train table in the waiting room- she loves it.

After we left the dentist, Emorie and I went to Chick-fil-a for a little lunch date.

Since she was such a big girl at the dentist, a little reward was in order.

My favorite girl created a new best friend at Build-a-Bear. Here she is posing with "Lexie."

We had a great Mommy and Emorie day, even if it did start out with a dentist appointment.

Emorie's first beach trip

My precious girl and I went to the beach with my parents last week. It was her first ever trip and she loved it. She mostly loved the hotel's kiddie pool and the lazy river, but she loved making sandcastles on the beach as well.

Just checkin' out the view.


Lovin' the kiddie pool and "Silly Submarine"

In the Lazy River with Pop-pop

On the final day we were there, we hit up the outlets to do some shopping. Emorie didn't want to shop, but found something better to do.

We had a great time, even if Daddy had to work and couldn't come.

Mama School

Some of you have commented or asked about mine and Emorie's "Mama School." If you don't know what I'm talking about, she and I have been working together on some early math and literacy skills on the days she doesn't go to daycare. We've also thrown a little arts and crafts, sensory play and pre-school appropriate science for good measure. I tried to start working with her in writing letters, but she isn't quite ready. We're working on some pre-handwriting activities I found on Pinterest instead.

We've always read to Emorie and have talked to her since she was in utero. I believe this is what led to her speech development- she has a large vocabulary and her pediatrician says she is above average in her speaking skills.

Ever the teacher and ever the worrywart, I was really stressing her not being ready for preschool. Turns out I needn't worry- Emorie is a fast learner and picks up on new concepts quickly. She also has a heck of a memory. I was never concerned about her literacy skills, but I did notice while she has memorized the numbers 1 through 20 in order, she really wasn't "counting." She would keep calling numbers after there were no more numbers to count. I struggled with math as a child and didn't want the same for her. I decided to work hard with her this summer not only in early math skills, but also in letter recognition and letter sounds. She is doing well.

Some skills we've practiced this summer are sorting, colors and shapes, comparisons (like big versus little and different shapes), patterns, letter sounds, letter recognition, matching upper case letters to lower case letters, and she has learned how to spell her name. We've also learned about water and weather, different sounds, hot and cold, butterflies and frogs, and textures.

I didn't spend tons of money on this, either. I have a pretty nice stash of arts and crafts supplies due to teaching Sunday School.

I also have a few things left over from teaching elementary school, such as the root viewer and the bug boxes. These colorful counters came from the dollar spot at Target when I was teaching second grade. My silly girl is using them to sort by color.

We use these wooden magnetic letters to spell words and talk about letters and letter sounds. I bought them from Dollar Tree when I was in grad school. 

 I've also been able to use several books, puzzles, related toys, and games from Emorie's playroom.

These things are fantastic! I bought them from Books Are Fun, this company that sells books at our school. 

This really neat travel Memory game contains different pages that you slide into the back. There are lots of different pages, and they've all been useful this summer. 

           I did go purchase a few workbooks from Dollar General for $1 each. I bought this one, one for colors and shapes, and one for the alphabet.

I also found countless ideas for teaching preschoolers and sensory play on Pinterest and parenting blogs. Some great sources are The Artful Parent, Modern Parents, Messy Kids, and Growing a Jeweled Rose. Have fun, and thanks for reading!