Ok, So I Failed The Great Experiment!

Wellll...looks like posting everyday is just not in the cards. Here's a quickie update:

Sky is now in a rehab for a few months. We will be able to see him for several hours today--two gifts, no electronics, a big dinner, no church--your basic Rehab Christmas. Sad, but we make the best of it. Two in a row for us. Maybe next year.

Parents are here--had a good drive down. They will watch the kids and the dog (and our df's dog, too!) on Friday while Dh and I are away at the house.

Nature Girl missed the last day of school before vacation due to a cold, but it was one of those Useless Public School days--they showed a video.

Film Buff is eagerly awaiting Christmas Day so he can watch Batman again--yes, he's getting it for Christmas! He can't wait to see all the movies that will be out in the next week or so. We did find out that he has to take the GED--wish we had known earlier. Pray for him to be able to schedule it in time to get his application in.

Have a Merry Christmas! Gotta run to the Dollar Store so NG can buy Grampa a giftie--

Survivor Finale--What did it MEAN?

So we had quite the dilemma last night--to watch the Cowboys beat the Giants, or watch the finale of Survivor. (What does that say about us? lol)

I watched about half the Cowboys game, then went to bed, as I was falling asleep on the couch. I woke up this am to hear that my favorite Survivor, Sugar, did not win, and was the "victim" of some really horrible words said by Corinne, another Survivor contestant.

So I was thinking, what does it take to insult (really, really insult, to the point of cruelty) someone on national television? Corinne had a chance to be nice later, to be repentant, to say she was "caught up in the game," but she didn't. How sad is that?

And why do I care? Survivor has always been a guilty pleasure around here. We talk about how people can lie or act badly under pressure, or how the ends don't really justify the means, but the "World" acts like they do. Survivor has been part of our moral development training around here--not really effective, but sometimes negative examples are a good thing.

Anyway, I wish Sugar had won.

Our Day Today

(Yeah, I've pretty much given up on posting every day--but at least I'm posting more, and getting back into the habit.)

Today Nature Girl has practice for the Nativity Play at our church. She's a sheep, again. Sigh. She could've been a camel (haha "I coulda been a contenda! I coulda been a camel!" in my best Brando voice...), but the Friendly Beast parts are supposed to go to 4th grade and up, and I am a big believer in letting things for older kids be for older kids. No pierced ears yet, for example. Rites of passage are important. So, a sheep it is.

Film Buff is taking the ACT this morning. He was late registering, so he had to pay an extra $40, but I will reimburse him, because it was my idea for him to take the test. His SAT's came back, and he could use the extra score--plus, the ACT is descriptive, not prescriptive (tells what you know, not predicting what you may do in college, necessarily), so it's easier. It's not written by the morons at ETS, either, those cretins. (Letting my Princeton Review training out for a walk here...) I hope he does well, but he's not taking it seriously, he didn't eat before the test (Glucose! Glucose for the Brain, Son!!! You need Glucose! Didn't work.), and basically he doesn't give a crap. He's just waiting for his high school career to be over, and honestly, I can't blame him. Seniorities even hits homeschoolers. He's a good boy, tho, by and large. I think he'll do ok.

Sky is awaiting transfer to the rehab place up the street from us. His disfunction is pretty deep. I'm just waiting and hoping, but I'm not that emotional about it all yet. Christmas is kinda sucky this year. It's not much fun to have your family's rituals and important times destroyed, year after year, by one of your children. He was telling me about a kid in jail with him who has missed 2 Christmases in a row, and will miss this one, too. The kid just keeps messing up around the holidays. I do feel sad for the moms of kids like that. I have to say that Fairfax County Juvenile Detention is really, really good, and they do care about the kids. No one wants to be there, but it's definitely not the horrible place that Arkansas JDC is, that's for sure. Dh will see Sky tonight, I'll see him Sunday, and then his transfer will be good on Tuesday. Nature Girl can see him next Sunday and on Christmas, at the family visitation times. We are glad he's transferring before Christmas.

I've got to clean up today--not fun, but ok. Laundry and floor sweeping, bathrooms and clutter control claim me today.

Hope your day is terrific--Seek the good.

I Will Change Your Name

Oh. (Breathe) Oh.
I found it.
Finally, I found it.

While reading one of my very, very favorite blogs, Ann Voskamp's Holy Experience, I came across a song that is incredibly dear to me. It's a little song called I Will Change Your Name. Listen at youtube here, and know how precious you are to Jesus Christ. There is nothing he cannot fix, even in the depths of your heart.

Oh...
I'm so Glad he led me to discover this again.

I've Got So Much To Do!

I'm not feeling quite as overwhelmed as I have the past few months, but still, there's so much to do! Here's my list:

1. Christmas shopping--I love doing this, if I know what I want to buy, and if there's $. Not too bad
this year.
2. Finish things for my classroom at school--there are always games to make, and I have to make
little block people (putting photos of each child on a block and putting them in a nice basket so
they can use them in the unit blocks), block signs, and some writing table items.
3. Clean my bedroom, organizing the books, papers, and clothes that are taking over! AHHH!
4. Clean the rest of the house.
5. Organize Nature Girl's bedroom closet, as well as de-cluttering her room.
6. Finish Film Buff's curriculum planning. I have to figure out what he's doing for Shakespeare--
probably Hamlet and Midsummer, but time is getting away from me!
7. Paper work for Sky, including physician's papers that must be signed and faxed.
8. Other faxes to send including work papers and new job papers (dog sitting may be a reality).
9. Figure out how to celebrate Film Buff's graduation--ordering a diploma, too.

And that's just for starters! What's on your list?

"It feels so good to give"

Today Nature Girl and I sort thru some of her clothes and found some to give to a friend who needs things for her littlest. We relived some memories ("Oh, remember when you wore this?" "This is so cute!" "This is the dress in the picture on Daddy's desk!" and so on), and then decided what to give. We also let go of some of my Discovery Toys samples, and one of my favorite kids' books that I had saved for a long time.

As I was going down to the basement to find another toy or two, my heart just put up a prayer--"Lord, forgive me for hoarding." I have had a hard time letting go of Nature Girl's clothes and of some of the books and toys I've kept way past their usefulness for us. NG has a whole side of her closet taken up with two big boxes of old clothes--it's so time to get rid of them!

It does feel good to give. Let's all remember that this season.

Question from WTM--Parenting and Church Workers

The question was asked on the Well-Trained Mind Forum about how being in the public eye at church changes or influences your parenting--in other words, do your standards change when others are looking? Here's my response (it's rough, because it was spontaneous, but I think it lays out how I feel):

Well, as a priest's wife with the Ultimate Preacher's Kid (mine is in recovery right now), I can say this--

I don't feel my standards for my kids are any different than if we were not a clergy family. I feel the standards for all Christian kids are pretty darn high. Yes, the scripture about the overseer being in charge of his family is a reality (sorry, can't remember what verse), but we are not holding high standards because of being in the public eye or because of a need to be a good example because of Dad's position.

When I feel embarrassed or worried about my kids' behaviour, and I'm aware of my own "looking around to see if anyone noticed," I count it as sin. Yep. Sin. Because I don't want to be a "whitened sepulcher," and I think clergy families who simply must appear perfect are not acting in accordance with scripture. There should be no acting involved, even if the motive for trying to appear to be what you are not is that you don't want to be a stumbling block for someone.

We have got to be real. Real clergy families are just like any other Christian family--we sin, we fall, we do wrong things. We happen to be extra aware of Grace in our family, because we so desperately need it. I'm not a model of perfect parenting, I'm not great with my Quiet Time, I'm cranky sometimes, my house can get messy, and my language can get ugly. I'm human. So are my kids, and so is my husband. What I do try to model is that, in my imperfection, I am not left to myself. I have a Great Big God who loves me as I am but wants me to grow. He works in and thru every one of my carpy decisions, failings and sinful desires. He can take anything and make it part of the beautiful tapestry he is weaving out of this world. I want my life to point to him as the one who is behind everything good and joyful and right in my life.

One of my very favorite authors is Oswald Chambers. In the wonderful devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, he talks about the Christian's life as being a highway for God. No one can stand this unless he has the Holy Spirit's help. Don't be afraid of letting your life become public. Just remember that the standard applies to all Christians, and we all fail to meet it. We are not a group that believes we can do life as it should be without God, because we are never going to reach the standard God sets, but it's ok because Christ reached it, and God sees us clothed with Christ's Righteousness. He is making something beautiful out of all of us.

Extend to others the Grace you need from them. You may get slammed, but be a model, not of perfect behaviour, but of the Perfect Work of God.

Please Pray for Our Family--Tragic Day

We heard today that my husband's brother lost his wife last night in a drunk driving accident. She was driving home from work and was hit by someone running a red light. He apparently got woken up by the police knocking at his door at 3AM this morning.

I did not know Artiffany well, but I do know she was a perfect match in all ways for my brother in law. They shared a love of art, of travel, and of each other, and so much more. She was very kind to my son when he was preparing to travel to Ireland this summer, sharing her travel tips and giving kind encouragement. A gifted, generous and intelligent woman, she loved and laughed and gave of herself to all of our family, and her work as a nurse was just one indication of a compassionate and caring nature.

My husband will go down for her funeral; because of work/school/economics, the rest of us will attend only in spirit. Please pray especially for Tif's parents, siblings, and most of all, for Andy, her husband and kindred soulmate.

I Don't Think I Have Enough to Say!

I don't think I can post every day. I don't have enough to say!

I spent today surfing the net for jobs--I'm ready to stop being a preschool teacher because I lack focus and have not done the job I really want to. My standards are high, and I am not living up to them. I'd like to work 3 days a week, perhaps walking dogs and doing a little tutoring. Fat chance. I do have a job waiting for me if I want it, but I don't know if they have a dog-walking route for me yet, and it's hard to quit a job if you don't have a good one to replace it. Bird in the hand and all.

Isn't it funny how discontent rears its ugly head? I am feeling more discontent since I started looking for something else. I should hear this week if I get any (contract) walking jobs. They have been so terrific at the preschool, and I hate to leave them in the lurch, but I'm ready to live my life as I want to, and I don't think it's wrong at this point to seek something else. Sigh. Any one got a dog I can walk?

Film Buff got his SAT's back. Wow. Just Wow! He went up 50 points in Critical Reading, went down in math by the same amount, and raised his Writing Score by 140 points! Guess which section he prepped the most---Math! Hilarious, tho painful. Thank God I heard colleges usually take your best score in each area. He's now trying to finish his application to college. He has to write a 250 word script pitch for the Cinema program. Luckily, he has a friend who is a producer in LA. He can run it by him and perhaps get some pointers. It would be so great if he got in next year!!

Sky goes to treatment Dec. 16. All you who pray, please do. Fourth time's the charm and all that. I'd cross my fingers, my toes and my ears if I thought it would help. Gotta be his work--we'll do what we can to make home good for him, and to work with our family counselor, but the majority of the work will be Sky's.

Well, that's it for now. Maybe I'll have more interesting stuff next time!

Preparing for Advent

Advent, the Church season seen as preparation for Christmas and the Coming of Christ (both first and Second), starts on Sunday. We use an Advent Wreath, lighting a candle every day at dinner time. As the time for Jesus' coming approaches, the light grows brighter--it's something I've done since I was a little girl, and I love the tradition. Here's a little history of the Advent Wreath.
I'll post a pic of ours when I can get the camera working!

Giving Thanks--To Someone

Dear Husband made an excellent point in his Thanksgiving sermon this morning. So often we look at Thanksgiving as a wonderful time to be appreciative of all we have. It's wonderful to cultivate an "attitude of gratitude." But like just writing a thank you note without sending it, we must remember to direct our thanks to God, the author of all good gifts.

And I also want to remember, that some good gifts come disguised. We can't celebrate with Sky today, but we know he is safe, and we are hopeful that the next few months will be a time of healing and grace. Only God can see the right side of the tapestry that is life--only he knows where every thread contributes to the pattern, and only he can take something that seems a horrible tragedy or mistake and make it beautiful. One day, I think we will see the whole of the tapestry, and we will be amazed at the picture on the front. It will not only make sense, but it will be lovely and grace-filled, and glorify God.

Did You Eat Too Much? Take a Nature Walk After Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. The food, the chatter, the traditions. But NOT the bloated, uncomfy, "gotta take a nap now" feeling. So this year, we may take a walk after dinner--a walk with a purpose!
Here's a fun Nature Scavenger Hunt you can do with your little ones or big ones after dinner (and if you can steal away and leave someone else the dishes, well so much the better! Just kidding...).
Enjoy!

Scavenger Hunt

BTW

BTW, I reset my counter. Let's see who comes and visits! Most traffic is from the Well-Trained Mind forums.

Field-Based Science For 4th Grade

Nature Girl is in the 3rd grade this year at the local elementary school. Next year, she would like to homeschool, and so would I, but I will need to find a creative way to keep up with financial obligations. As I am thinking more and more about this, I am trying to plan a little for her 4th grade year.

Science has always been a tough area for me--it's clear that Nature Girl is a hands-on, experiments and field trips kinda gal. She actually came downstairs the other day with a homemade science kit she had put together, containing her Tasco microscope, a pair of plastic tweezers, a mini-notebook, and some other small items. She took a little basket with her on her way outside, after telling me she was going out "to make some observations." I found her later in the garage, sitting on the cold concrete, absorbed in using her microscope to carefully look at the items she had collected. She shared her written observations with me later. This was completely on her own, and showed me how much potential there is for her to enjoy a field-based/observational-type of science instruction.

So, I've been doing a little of my own research (tho not sitting on the garage floor!) to see if there are already some curriculum options out there. While there are many biology/botany/nature study ideas and books floating around, I have yet to see something that's open and go. My idea is to pull together some living books (Jessica at Trivium Academy has tons of great ideas for these on her blog) on several biomes/habitats, and then go visit the ones in our area. Jessica's kids are also using the Junior Ranger program for a park in their area, so I investigated that, too.

I went to the website of one of our nearest National Parks, Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), and downloaded their Junior Ranger Corps packet. Inside are 13 fun activities for children to do at the park. Each activity is introduced by a "kid" from PWFP's history. The activities vary from visiting different trails of the park, looking for specific items, to walking thru the various displays at the visitor's/nature center, reading displays and filling in information on birds, animal life, etc. It really looks like fun! We could do it in 4-5 visits, or do fewer activites and go more often.

At the end of the Ranger program, Nature Girl would earn a certificate, a patch and some little extra thing that they don't spell out in the packet. I think it would be a good beginning to our studies. We may even go before next year ( I have a hard time waiting on things like that! lol).

Last year we took a monthly nature walk in a marsh area not far from us--it was amazing to see how the marsh changed from month to month. We'd probably continue doing that, too. We also have another marsh nearby, as well as our very own woods in the backyard (we are situated on 40 acres of church land, 20 or so which are developed). Could be a lot of fun!

I will be looking for notebooking pages, some living books (I'm thinking One Small Square would be good, as well as using Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, which we have), and a scope and sequence.

Thoughts on Election

Fooled ya--not the Election you may be thinking of!

I've been pondering the Christian denomination/worldview/theological stance (proper term?) called Reform. One of the tenets is the idea of predestination and election. Here are some random thoughts. Let me know what you think.

The question came up on the Well-Trained Mind General Board (an excellent, fabulous, wonderful, fun, helpful, interesting bunch of homeschoolers) about the need to evangelize--How should the idea that God chooses whom he will save influence the Christian's witness? Sort of a "Why bother witnessing if God's already predetermined who is saved?" Good question. I had a different spin off from that--as I age, I am refining my ability to put into words what I truly believe, and let me tell you, it isn't easy. To sift thru what I've been taught, what I've learned on my own, and what I feel Holy Spirit has guided me to, is difficult sometimes. It involves pretty deep thinking, and not being general, but being very specific.

I think it's easy to live an unexamined life. I think it's easy to hear a doctrine or some theology, say, "Oh, that sounds pretty good, I'll believe that" but keep it so general that you don't apply it to your own life and loved ones. On the idea that God elects whom he will save, and all others are screwed (oops) are not saved, well--Ok, I can see God being the Boss.

I can give God permission (not to sound heretical or anything) to do whatever he wants, and be whatever he wants. He gets to choose and do anything he wants to, because he's the Head Honcho. Creating everything gives him that right--actually, he has that right just because of who he is,not because of what he's done. So I'm good with that basic concept.

But what I find inconsistent with who I think Scripture and the witness of the saints shows God to be is that he would create someone who cannot choose him. Not someone who WON"T choose him, but someone who cannot, because God did not first choose him. You see, I believe God reaches out to us first--We love because he first loved us. That's in John. I believe he desires all to come to a saving knowledge of him. I believe he wants all his creation to live in relationship with him.

So I simply can't be a member of a Reform Church, who believes there are some who are never woo'ed by God, who are out of his Thoughts, and whom he does not love. For it would take the absence of Love to allow the formation of a human who has no chance and no choice to ever choose God.

I was worried about this because of those in my life, particularly my son, who have not chosen a relationship with God (yet?). Could he be one of the "non-elect?" When you take the concept out of the general and apply it to the specific, it's one I simply cannot believe. I can see how perhaps he is one who may not choose God, and therefore will not spend eternity with God. I can go there, tho it's hard. But to think God made him but doesn't love him? He's not a throw away. He's not to be created then discarded like some forgotten children's scribble. He's a masterpiece, and I believe God wants him.

Let's be careful to examine our statements of belief, and see if they "work" when we take them out of the general and apply them to living, breathing people, that we know and love like our own flesh.

Then I think, How big is my faith--could I give God my worship if he, indeed, does only choose some to be saved? If he didn't choose Sky? Can I allow him to be God over that, too?

Ok, Here's What I'm Gonna Do

I've decided that, from now until 2009, I am going to Blog every day. I may not have readers. I may not have anything interesting to say. I may not spell well. No matter. Every day, from now until Jan 1, I will add to this blog a thought, a funny joke, a devotion, an update--SOME sort of entry, every day. So there.

Yesterday Was Our Anniversary

25 Years. Wow.
Not quite what you are thinking. Dh and I have been married only 23 years, but we got engaged 25 years ago yesterday. We celebrate both dates, every year.
I'm not going into the story of our engagement b/c I have to go to work in a few minutes, and it's quite a long, involved tale. Suffice it to say, we have chestnuts and a little Auschliese (is that spelled right?) every Nov. 12, and we thank God for His Hand in our lives.
Ok, I have to tell a little of the story.

We dated in college (met at an Episcopal youth retreat the summer he graduated from hs and the year before my senior year--known each other a Long Time), long-distance, getting together mostly in the summers. Around the end of that particular summer, dh knew he wanted to marry me. I was clueless. He saved for a ring, and gave God 3 conditions to meet, so that he could be sure it was the right time to ask me, and I was the right woman for him.

I had to get a ride to his college. The ring had to arrive on time. And...are you ready?
His college had to win their football game. Sigh. Men.

To make a long story a little longer...I got the ride, but we had an accident while getting onto the highway (snowing and icing all over the road!). After several hours, we all decided to rent a car and continue.

The ring arrived in time--I think the day before?

We went to the football game on Saturday--it was FREEZING cold, and, as our team was losing, I really, really wanted to go. I couldn't understand why my man was so darned INTENSE, and so into this game! "Wow, he must really love football."

They won. In the last, oh, IDK, 20 Seconds or so?
Dh was preeettttyy excited. He rushed the field, dragging me along. Little did I know...

That night, we made chestnuts and drank some cheaper (not cheap, just cheaper) wine, and he asked me.

And I said...

No.

Well, eventually, I said yes. Dh always says that he forgot about Free Will. Very important theological lesson.

We got married in July two years later.

And, if you stayed with this post this long, you should know...
I'm crazy about him still.

Finally, an Update

Is anyone still out there?
I have let this blog go because so many things have gotten in the way of my sitting down and composing posts--

1. I am now working as a preschool teacher 5X a week, wanting to pay down debt and save for
Film Buff's college. I am hoping for another job.
2. Nature Girl is therefore attending ps for the first time.
3. We have started an Alpha Course at church--I am not leading it, but I do help set up.
4. Unfortunately, Sky has relapsed and is awaiting trial to see what the judge will say. We are
investigating yet another residential program. Uggg.

It is so not fun. But, as usual, there is good and bad, light and dark, Twilight and Sunrise. God is refining me further, and at least, this time (with Sky's situation), I know the ropes a bit. One good thing is that I have stopped the unhealthy practice of putting myself in his shoes--or what I think they are, and then reacting with great sadness. I have been dealing with the Loss of the Ideal all thru his turmoil--I didn't know I had so many hopes and dreams. I am simply living this life here and now, wanting for the future, but no longer weeping so over the loss of the way I wanted life to be. That's actually a much better place. I even stopped setting my clock 10 minutes ahead--I found it a symptom of my wanting things to be different and denying them the chance to just be as they are, and dealing with it.
Does that make any sense?

I'll be updating more today, adding in what NG is doing at brick and mortar school, filling in the blanks with Film Buff's curriculum, and musing more about salvation, goals, good works, and other light subjects...

Welcome back!

Can We Go Home Again? Children And Nostalgia

It should be interesting, going back to Texas for the first time in 7 years. It has been a really difficult move for 2 of my children, and they are excited and a little, I don't know, nervous? about going back. I've gone back to my old neighborhoods before, but always as an adult, never as a teen. I don't know how it will go. They don't have any family or even friends still there--dh and I have friends, but they are from our church and never had kids my ds' ages.

One son is worried that he will be bored with family time, and that hurts my feelings. He feels isolated from the rest of us, and I am hoping it will be a bonding time for us all, but that's tough when he doesn't want to be with us at all. Please pray we can just practice being a family.

Nature Girl and I are thrilled to be going to Gramma's House--it's just the most wonderful place. I love my mil with all my heart, and spending time with her is a great joy. I'm hoping it just all works out. I know better than to be anxious!!

All Packed!

Film Buff takes off tomorrow to Florida, to visit with his aunties, cousins and uncles, then his Auntie L is taking him and two of the oldest cousins to Ireland! They will stay in various places and see wonderful things. He'll also get to visit his Uncle A, and see him teach his college art class at a Florida university. What a lovely opportunity. Uncle A's wife, Aunt T, actually made Film Buff his very own video on youtube, in which she gave excellent travel tips and best wishes. Everyone has really embraced him--I am so grateful. We rarely see Dh's side of the family (these particular siblings, anyway) so it is very nice that they are offering FB this gift, of a wonderful trip and TIME.

I repacked his stuff just now--we got clothes for a week into a very small suitcase--I'm proud of myself! lol Here's hoping he has a great, great time.

Pray For China During the Olympics

I followed a link to Voice of the Martyrs, a wonderful organization that deals with the Persecuted Church around the World. They are giving away free prayer wrist bands for those who want to pray for China during the Olympics this August. (Here's the link)

Want to join me? Leave a comment if you are going to be in prayer. Even just one time can make a difference. I don't know how prayer to Jesus works, but I do know he cares, and I do know he desires all to come to him, so why not pray?

First Day of School Outfit

She's picked out her dress to wear the First Day of School. We got shoes, too, but they are a little big--who knew finding black flats would be difficult?

Red Dress

Have Backpack, Will Travel...to 3rd Grade

Here's Nature Girl's Land's End backpack. Love it--sturdy, not too heavy, lots and lots of pockets!

Backpack

Wish I knew how to include a photo from a website, but this will do.

I can heartily recommend Land's End for so many things--Film Buff has had his backpack for 5 years--no rips, tears or significant wear.

Great Math Worksheet Site

I have long looked for supplemental math worksheets that have math facts in a vertical format, with 100 on the page. I ran across this awesome site today--

Math Fact Sheets

I am going to have Nature Girl work on facts the rest of the summer, so she can go to ps with them down pat. She is looking for things to do and sees it as fun.

We've been talking a lot lately about school and what it will be like. We both know there is change coming--I've tried to inspire confidence in her. Having fluency in math facts will help give her a boost.

A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Library...

I am so tired of not being able to find modest skirts and skorts for Nature Girl! We have tried just about every where. I don't fancy the Little House look; we both want skirts and skorts that go just to the knee. We've tried Land's End (excellent for so many things, but their skorts are too short), LLBean, JCP, Sears, Kohl's, Hanna Andersson, Gap, Gymboree...ARGHH!

I ended up taking NG to the library today. We needed some books and I wanted to look at some of the Teaching Company dvd's on Shakespeare and other lit. Found what I wanted, for the most part. But what was funny was that I saw a sweet-looking young girl, probably 14 or so, wearing an attractive summer skirt--she had homeschool written all over her, not to promote the stereotype. I actually approached her, admiring her skirt and asking if I could speak to her mom--I know, ballzy me. She kindly led me to her mom, and I ended up having the nicest conversation with her mom. Liz told me she absolutely emphathized--and gave me the names of two thrift stores in the area that often have a good selection of girls' skirts and dresses.

We went to one later, bought a nice pair of jeans (a little pricey for a thrift store, but not too bad), and are now convinced it's an option for other wear.

I don't understand why it's so darned hard to find good quality clothing for dd that isn't black, doesn't have some logo on it, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and doesn't make her look like a little tart. I'm going to ask C if she'll sew some skirts for dd!

This Will Not Sit Right With Some

I just read a lovely short story called, "When Queens Ride By." I had seen it in the Vision Forum catty, and was pleasantly surprised to find it posted on a homekeeping blog.

I feel I have a better, grander and more doable vision now, of a role I want to embrace. Not everyone will agree--that's fine by me. This is mine--my good moment. No one has to validate what I am feeling after reading this story.

You may enjoy it.

When Queens Ride By

Back Again

Hi All,
We have not restarted school, but I decided to restart my blog entries. We've done a little school here and there, mostly from Apologia Zoo 3. Film Buff is off on a mission trip, will come home for a week, then jet off to Ireland, courtesy of a nice auntie. We take off for a visit to where we moved from 7 years ago soon after that. He's supposed to be working on 50 Great Short Stories, edited by Crane, but has only read about 5 of them. He says he'll take the book on the plane--sounds ok by me.

I have accepted a position as a part-time preschool teacher for the fall, which means Nature Girl will go to 3rd grade at the local ps. I'm kinda nervous, kinda excited for her. I think much of the textbook curricula will be redundant, but she will have other things to learn--I just want the "hidden curriculum," as they say, to not be too hard on her. I am going to take this year by year. I would love it if she could stay in ps until 6th grade, then come home for Jr. High and the first two years of High School. But we will have to see.

There's a chance I could get my certification, and make some $ by homeschooling other people's kids, along with Nature Girl. Not sure if this would work. Ideally, I'd tutor after school about 10 hours a week, but I'd have to find my own clients, and I'm not sure I can really do that.

We'll see! It's hard not to want to plan curriculum for NG next year. There are some fun things we could use. I don't think a year of school will harm her, but I want to minimize any damage it might cause. That will sound weird to those of you who do not homeschool--I am mostly talking about the social stuff that happens at school. She is quite sweet, has no doubts about God, and still watches Big Comfy Couch and Mr. R. I don't want that ridiculed.

Last Weekly Report for a While

School is dwindling down at our house. Sky's last day was Friday. Film Buff has to continue with math with Dad, and I'm going thru 50 Great Short Stories with him for the rest of the summer (except the 4 weeks we will be off on vacation). Nature Girl has been fooling around with Saxon 5/4--a dear friend who is moving to Okinawa gave it to us, and I casually showed it to her. After 3 weeks with no math, she was intrigued, and we've done the first 4 lessons this week, mostly orally. But we are not going to do much more--it will start to get too hard.

We are continuing with Apologia's Zoology 3. I don't like the heavy-handed Creationist perspective, but I can overlook most of it. Not that I don't think Creationism isn't valid--far from it--but I'm not sure I agree 100% with the way it is presented in this book. It is, however, full of interesting facts, engaging in tone, and beautifully illustrated--it "feels nice" to read. Did you know rabbits have their sweat glands in their lips?

Gotta go--several meetings and appointments this week. We need to figure out what to do with Sky. We need to get Film Buff's registration process completed for Community College, and we need to prepare for our parish retreat. Lots to do!

Almost Done With School! June 2-June6

Just a quick update on school work-
Nature Girl is nearly done, so this week was very light. I gave her some phonics and math pages almost every day. I wish I had kept up with Adventures in Phonics C--there's such good info in that little workbook! I did think it important for us to go over the rules of dividing syllables (and I learned a lot in the process), so I assigned a few pages for independent work. We were off to the dentist on Tues with Film Buff, and yesterday I was here:
so I gave NG small packets to work on in my absence. I must say, she a "git 'er done" kinda gal!

We did the chapters on Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, in SOTW. The Royal Tudors--what a fun bunch! Nature Girl thinks the name is funny...a little base humor. We followed some of the recommendations for extra literature and non-fiction from the Activity Guide. Talk about a valuable resource--truly, a top find for the year. NG did lots of map work, these narration/copywork pages, and we did this extra reading. Love Love Love the Bruce Colville Shakespeare adaptations! Illustrations (particularly in Midsummer...) are outstanding, and he weaves the original language into the retold stories effectively. In fact, Film Buff will be studying Hamlet and Midsummer next fall, so I picked up our Barron's plays to prepare, and was pleasantly surprised that quite a few of the original phrases showed up in the picture books. Now I know the plots, too--which was my goal for Nature Girl, so that Shakespeare won't be so intimidating when she gets to the real stuff. I asked her what she thought of his stories, right after we had finished Hamlet--she was quite impressed, and thought he was a great storyteller!
We are on our last timeline page. We just need to cover Sir Walter Raleigh and the Lost Colony, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Nature Girl is reading Elizabeth I from the Royal Diaries series--much better than the one I bought on Eleanor of Aquitaine (never did get to it). We are going to continue history until we finish, even if it's into July.
Apologia's Land Animals of the Sixth Day arrived in the mail this week, and Nature Girl couldn't wait to start. I know, it's weird to start a new science program when school is almost out, but we did such a little science this year, and this looked so good when I was surfing the web--she said she'd really like to do it, so what the heck. It will give us something to do on those long summer days (of which there will be too few, of course). The first experiment involved creating a "habitat for M&M's" out of 3 colors of contruction paper, torn into pieces and crumpled up. She had one minute (changed from the 2 minutes in the experiment as written) to hunt for as many as she could find. We should have used the smaller candies, or Skittles--the Peanut M&M's we used were quite easy to find. Anyway, she learned a little and we had a good time. The idea was that the candies of the same color as the paper would be harder to find--like well-camouflaged prey.
She made a chart, and filled in her first "lab report." She also made me take a picture of her eating an M&M and called it "M&M's in their natural habitat," which I thought was pretty clever! I don't post pics of her face, so that's just for her notebook!
The text comes from a 6 Day Creation viewpoint--I'm not there, but I want to give her several perspectives. It was like a mini-Bible study, too--and we both really enjoyed that aspect.
Sky took this picture of a lovely rainbow created by the sprinklers in the backyard. We has so much rain right after this--huge, tornado-filled thunderstorms that knocked out the power for a few minutes, brought down several trees and many branches, but did no other real damage.

Couple of happies--Film Buff got his driver's license!! Yea!! I know he's proud. Ibaked him a cake and Nature Girl and I decorated it with little cars from the dollar store. We will be traveling to see my sil and nieces in OH this weekend, but he will not be driving there! Not yet. J is graduating from HS--we are so proud of her. I'll get to see my parents, too.

Keep us all in your prayers, esp. Sky.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post more regularly in the future.

Weekly Report 5/19-5/23

We had a light week, mostly doing testing (ITBS) and history. We finished the sections on Martin Luther and the Reformation, on Gutenberg and Henry the VIII, and the first section on the Counter-Reformation. We have not done any supplemental readings this week, focusing on our read aloud, Anne of Green Gables. We'll probably do some potato printing this week for fun, and there are a few activities in the AG I want to cover. I think we will extend our history into June, just because there are so many fun thngs to do with this time period. I want to get into Shakespeare, also--we'll read Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare next week.

Nature Girl finished her Saxon 3 math two weeks ago, so I gave her last week off from math, and this week, we didn't do much either. I want to find something easy to give her to do over the summer, just to keep her facts fresh. I know I can just copy some worksheets, but I may look for something more interesting.
Nature Girl likes the Draw Write Now series of books, and worked on a couple of pictures independently. We had lovely visitors from Sweden last weekend and she wanted to give each of them a picture. Here's her starfish picture--she wasn't satisfied with it, so she didn't give it to them.We have a "Seasons" door by the school room--she decided to make a forsythia picture out of tissue and pastel. No help, just her creating.

I'm considering starting a Tea Time once a week. I've collected various tea cups over the years, mostly from yard sales. The idea is to use the time to read a couple of poems and/or a story with a moral, like from The Book of Virtues. Nature Girl will be thrilled to help make a goodie or two--she loves to bake. The boys may not participate, but I'm sure they will stop by for a snack if one's available!
Nature Girl has been doing her Nature Notebook on her own for the last few weeks. Here's a pic she took of some berries in the woods. We haven't identified them yet. She's been pressing lots of flowers, too, and making pages with where she found the items. We have so much around--there are lady slippers in the woods by the driveway, the locusts are blooming, and the honeysuckle looks like it's ready to pop this week (yum!)
We have some bat boxes up in the other house--Nature Girl took the camera when she went down with her dad last Monday. I like to just give her the camera and let her click away.
We are getting so many birds and critters today! Just while I've been posting this, we've had cardinals, a nuthatch, a titmouse, a sparrow, and a very cute chipmunk all eating the seeds Nature Girl scattered on the back porch. The dog has been very interested, too! It's definitely getting closer to summer here.
Hope your week was great!

Weekly Report, sort of!

Wanna see what we've been doing in history today?

This week's lesson

But Nature Girl likes this one better (same song, second verse!)

Lot's of rockin' fun at our house...

Where Have You Been?

Tee Hee--
I've been so busy, both physically and emotionally, that I've neglected this poor blog. I can just imagine it asking me Where have you been?

Well, I'm just here for a minute. Nature Girl has finished Saxon 3 math, and that makes me feel like we are almost done for the year. We've learned about 3 great American civilizations (Maya, Aztec, Inca) and learned about Columbus, Magellan, and Cortes (with Vasco De Gama thrown in there, too). Nature Girl had a terrific idea to sail some paper boats down our swollen creek--yes, it was 40 degrees outside and raining, but by Gum, we did it! My shoes are still wet.


Film Buff took a practice SAT math test--oh boy, we have some work to do. But we'll get there. He is signed up for the June test, and we need to get cracking on cracking the thing. He's also almost done with his Behind the Wheel class--still working on turns. Last lesson is Sunday--here's hoping.

We've determined what he should take next year, and I've been working on a lit list--I'll post our plans soon. I'm so glad for the WTM boards--so much good advice there.

Gotta go! Pictures of our work will be up soon.

Weekly Report 4/21-4/25

Nature Girl finished a variety of history projects this week, including a pop-up card of the Tower of London, where the little princes were kept by Richard.


We went on to the rest of the African kingdoms chapter of SOTW, and then to the chapter on India. She thought Akbar and Babur were pretty interesting leaders! We'll make Indian food this week as one of our activities. Unfortunately, our salt blocks from Mali did not turn out, but we will still play the trading game, as described in the Activity Guide for SOTW.

Nature Girl always does such neat and pretty map work. Here's a map from the AG about India.


We read about Prince Henry the Navigator the week before, and are now approaching the Explorers chapters in SOTW. Columbus is first up--We are going to read a bit from Marshall's
The Light and the Glory. It feels strange to have come so far in history and finally be talking about the New World (although we learned about Vikings already, so it's not the first introduction).

I would put up pics of NG's nature notebook entries this year, but they keep coming out flipped! I've learned Adobe PhotoAlbum on my own, and I don't know how to correct them, so you'll just have to read text. She pressed wisteria, cherry blossoms (from our trip to Washington), and pine needles, then mounted them and wrote a bit about where she found them. All of it was done independently. There's so much blooming around us! All the leaves are out on the trees, too, which means the shade is back--but we lost some trees last year, so it's not as gloomy as usual.

We have also been speeding thru grammar with Rod and Staff. We've done at least 25 pages the past two weeks. We'll be finished with Unit 3 this week. She can now pick out the noun in a sentence, tell if it's common or proper, find the verb, find the pronoun and find the adjective (if any). She knows a sentence starts with a capital letter, and ends with a mark of punctuation. (I love how Rod and Staff teaches her word order when there are two people in a sentence--they teach the children to put their name last, because Jesus said to let others go before you--I thought that was a great reason!) Spelling Workout has reinforced these, especially with the proofreading paragraph that comes at the end of every lesson. Nature Girl did struggle with spelling "gh" and other digraph words this week, but we can slow down and redo the lesson without a problem.

She's almost done with Saxon 3. This week, we worked on more division, working with a remainder and with quotients greater than 10. I know she'll be ahead next year, and I do plan on reviewing her math facts with her nearly every day during the summer.

That's about it for this week.

Notebooking Pages

I've added a notebooking widget--scroll down to see some great, free notebooking resources. We printed out the bird mini-books for NG's Nature Notebook. I love the clear illustrations, colorful and accurate. I often visit this site for ideas--Enjoy!

Weekly Report 4/14 to 4/18

Here's a summary of what Nature Girl has been doing this week.
History: Story of the World continues to intrigue and inspire. This week, we learned about the Wars of the Roses, and some of the Medieval African Kingdoms. These are examples of what Mary copied from the white board--and I can see a couple of my own spelling errors! Oops, we'll have to correct those. Have to say her handwriting is back on track--nice and neat. We haven't done any projects for a while, so I'm looking ahead to see what we can swing next week.
Bible: NG did a few lessons independently in Studying God's Word A this week. She wanted to get back to making her lapbook, largely because I told her she could have her very own Bible when she finishes it (the "give it to her at Easter" didn't happen). She made a mini book about Leviticus--hopefully, my summation on the inside is sufficient.

We are finishing up Saxon 3. The end of the year always brings more advanced concepts that don't show up again until about Lesson 40 of the next year (so far, that is!). This week, we learned about obtuse, right and acute angles--easy to remember for Nature Girl; she said "Oh, A Cute angle! It's little and cute!" Good enough for me. She also learned about division with remainders. That was hard, but she got it.

We picked up Farmer Boy again, and will finish it next week. It's so good, I don't mind reading it for the 5th time (out loud--she's read it herself 4 times now). Dh finished Prince Caspian with her, just in time for the movie. And Sky is reading her Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (second time thru for that one). On her own, she's continuing her Nancy Drew spurt, and read The Secret Garden this week, too. She loves to read, that's for sure. We didn't do any outside history reading this week, but next week, I'm going to go to the library and pick up a few more books.
The camilia's are out, as are plenty of violets, wisteria, and azaleas. She pressed some wisteria for her nature notebook, and, while in the phone book (our "press!") discovered pine and violets that she had pressed previously. Nature Girl really loves flowers--she'll add a few descriptive words to her pages this week.
Speaking of descriptive words, we are on Adjectives in Rod and Staff Grammar. I thought it would be fun to make a word wall--so we started writing out all the adjectives we could think of, and here's what we came up with (in the half hour we had for grammar!):
She liked it so much, we added more words today. The wall is about 12 feet long, so we have plenty of room to add other parts of speech. We do grammar mostly orally, so we can usually get 3 or 4 lessons done at a time--that won't continue, but at least we are on Unit 3. We blew it off for several months, and I did want to cover all the parts of speech before she goes to 3rd grade.
That's it for last week! Here's the back of our house, from the hammock where she spent a good half hour snuggled next to Sky while he read to her:
It's soaking wet around here, and plans are in the works for an Ark...Hope it's a good Spring where you are!

A Gift For You

Scroll all the way down and share my video. This is my Jesus. He can be yours, too.

Weekly Report 4-4

Not much to report this week. As I wrote, we went to the Cherry Blossoms on Monday. We did get school done, but it was a very quick morning! I am so sick of the freezing weather and dreary grey skies. We walked in drizzle in DC; we park at Gravelly Point and walk over the bridge to the Jefferson Memorial, where the blossoms are--got pretty damp, but not soaked.

As for academics--Nature Girl started timed division tests, and upped her score by about a dozen points by the end of the week. We also started functions in Saxon 3. Since we were behind in Rod and Staff Grammar, we whizzed thru numerous lessons, and I feel we are doing all right now--still learning the parts of speech, and are on pronouns now.

Spelling went well, and NG has been doing her Bible lessons on her own. I expect she'll finish her Bible book by the end of May, and I'll probably get her started on Christian Liberty's Book C. It's funny to me that so much of what she is learning is new--I thought our Sunday School covered a lot of the stories, but really, they leave so much out. It's such a complex Book, I shouldn't expect the church to do as much as I can at home. Still, I'd love it if they could add in a little more, especially for the older kids.

In history this week we learned about the Black Plague, Henry V and Charles VI at Agincourt, and read about Joan of Arc. We used a beautiful picture book about JoA. I didn't realize it was quite so detailed, so it went a little slowly, but got the points across. We will make our mini-cannon from back in the Rus chapter, this week.

We also have almost finished our read-aloud, Chancy and the Grand Rascal. This would make an excellent resource to add to a US Geography course--or at least it would've been fun to map the trail they took to find Chancy's sisters and brother. Such a funny story--but now I have to find another book to read! Any suggestions?

Sky continues to do well. He needs some reminders about chores and homework--hopefully we can work that out. Film Buff is getting ready for driving school, which starts tomorrow! Everyone clear the roads! lol Not really. He's so motivated, I think he'll do fine. He got to see Leatherheads on Friday--love George Clooney.

That's our quick update for now.

Cherry Blossom Time!

Dh always has Monday off, so the week of his birthday, we usually go to see the Cherry Blossoms downtown. Here are some pics! Aren't they lovely? I wanted to post some of Nature Girl, but I'll have to send them to individuals, since we try not to show the faces of our family. She looked so sweet, all in pink and flowered pants--We have to walk across one of the biggest bridges to get there, and she was old enough now to make it all the way without a lift from Daddy.
Although it rained, we had a fun time.

Weekly Report 3-28-08

We had some Nature time this week at our local park. The bay isn't the cleanest around, and we have to be careful to wash our hands after, but Nature Girl just loved stomping around in her orange flowered boots, picking up large snail shells and listening to the water on the shore. We saw many hawks, and maybe even an eagle or two (there are quite a few further down the peninsula).

We had so much fun that we invited some friends to join us. The park has a great new playground, too--

Nature Girl's birthday is coming up, so we are going to rent an itty, bitty cabin on the grounds of this park, and spend the night star gazing and playing with fire. (Shhh, she doesn't know she's getting a telescope for her present from us!)

We finished the SOTW chapter on the Rus on Friday. We read some wonderful Russian folktales, and started Chancy and the Grand Rascal, which is written by the same guy who did By the Great Horn Spoon, which we previously enjoyed. Chancy tells the story of a young boy's search for his siblings, who were fostered out during the last part of the 1800's. It's a great way to learn about life along the Ohio River. Funny, too! I have fond memories of my brother reading this in the car on a trip to see faraway family, and laughing his head off.

Here's a picture of Vladimir the Great Nature Girl colored for history. I love how she used several colors to make his skin. Following are also some history notebook pages for the week. I let her copy from the white board instead of taking narrations.

This week, it's on to Suleiman, then the Plague. Can't wait.

Film Buff starts driving class this week. Everyone stay off the roads in NoVA! LOL He has a retreat this weekend; Sky may go, too. FB has also started Write@Home's Essay 1 class, and is doing very well. I hope it gives him enough instruction to be able to start writing more essay answers to test questions, and to give him confidence and ability in the SAT's. We are reading Cry, the Beloved Country this week, and he's up to 1970 in History. We have several wonderful movies coming to supplement his history--as I've said, it's my desire to acquaint him with at least some of the "Canon of American Film." He's looking now at VCU for film school, but we will see.

Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a fabulous Easter!

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia!

(and the proper response?--All together now...)

The Lord is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!

Meditation on Christ's Arrest

After Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was led away to the house of the high priest. The soldiers mocked him and beat him.
While it was still night, Jesus would have been held prisoner, waiting for his trial. This picture is of a hole in the basement of Caiaphas' house. It is just big enough for a man to be lowered into--it is too narrow to provide room to sit--one has to stand up inside.
This is probably where Jesus would have been held.

While at our Maundy Thursday vigil this morning, I read Psalm 88. I'll bet Jesus was quite familiar with the Psalms, as they were the hymnal of the Jews. I wonder if these words came to his mind as he waited in the darkness.

Oh Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you; turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends, and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.

But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

I wonder if these words were on his lips, as he spent the remainder of the night in the pit.

Two, Two, Two Weeks in One!

(For those of you who remember the Certs commercial...)

We've had two pretty good weeks since the last report. Now we are on break, but here are some highlights.

In History, we are just finishing the stories of Marco Polo, and Genghis and Kublai Khan. We read some really wonderful books about them, and had fun mapping various journeys and territories. I find the Silk Road fascinating, and Nature Girl was intrigued by stories of Marco Polo opening the East to the Europeans. We are also reading Heidi. Just love this story.
We also went back thru the AG and picked up some map work and this game (Fox and Geese) from the Richard the Lionheart chapter. It gave us a chance to review.

Nature Girl is making a lapbook for Bible. Here is an example of one of the mini-books. The idea originally was to give her a Bible after completing the lapbook, but I'm going to put it in her Easter Basket instead. This is the mini-book for Exodus. I'll post more pics as we go along.


We did a scavenger hunt with our Home Science Adventures kit. The idea was to gather various plant materials, then view them thru the microscope. We found everything on the list except the leaf borer. We also dissected the daffodil to see the pistil, pollen, stamen, and other parts. Pretty cool! Loving this curriculum.


Here's another lapbook mini-book--sorry I didn't put the pics in order. This one has the flaps that open, for the child to take notes or write a verse. We may go back and do that, but I just wanted to move on. Nature Girl wrote very neatly, and I didn't want to overwhelm her. She also started Christian Liberty's Studying God's Word A. I had it laying around, and decided to let her do it. It's quite simple, just reading a story paraphrased from the Bible, then answering 4 or 5 simple questions (the answers are provided for copying). She is intrigued by some of the stories we haven't covered before.
That's it for now. I'll try to be better about posting more next week!