Homeschooling in the State Journal

Last Friday our local paper had an article concerning homeschooling. Apparently a middle school in a neighboring county was pulled from the school to be home schooled. The teacher had concern and investigated, leading to the original article, found here. The result of this column was a message board blood bath. Some insisting on strict regulations for home schoolers. Home schoolers flooded the in-box and voice mail of the columnist, resulting in a follow-up article, found here.

Attorney Chris Klicka of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) responded to the columnist. Read his letter at this link http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/mi/200710300.asp

Of the comments posted to the article the one I enjoyed the most was the listing of historical and famous people that have been home schooled. The list is taken from http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers.htm

Constitutional Convention Delegates

· Richard Basseti - Governor of DE
· William Blount - U.S. Senator
· George Clymer - U.S. Representative
· William Few - U.S. Senator
· Benjamin Franklin
· William Houston – Lawyer
· William S. Johnson
· William Livingston - Governor of NJ
· James Madison - 4th U.S. President
· George Mason - Justice of VA
· John Francis Mercer - U.S. Rep.
· Charles Pickney III - Governor of SC
· John Rutledge - Chief Justice
· Richard D. Spaight - Governor of NC
· George Washington
· John Witherspoon
· George Wythe - Justice of VA

Presidents

· John Adams

· John Quincy Adams

· Grover Cleveland

· James Garfield

· William Henry Harrison

· Andrew Jackson

· Thomas Jefferson

· Abraham Lincoln

· James Madison

· Franklin Delano Roosevelt

· Theodore Roosevelt

· John Tyler

· George Washington

· Woodrow Wilson

Statesmen

· Konrad Adenauer

· Henry Fountain Ashurst

· William Jennings Bryan

· Winston Churchill

· Henry Clay

· Pierre du Pont

· Benjamin Franklin

· Alexander Hamilton

· Patrick Henry

· William Penn

· Daniel Webster

Military Leaders

· John Barry - Senior Navy Officer

· Stonewall Jackson - Civil War General

· John Paul Jones - Father of the American Navy

· Robert E. Lee - Civil War General

· Douglas MacArthur - U.S. General

· George Patton - U.S. General

· Matthew Perry - naval officer who opened up trade with Japan

· John Pershing - U.S. General

· David Dixon Porter - Civil War Admiral

U.S. Supreme Court Judges

· John Jay

· John Marshall

· John Rutledge

· Sandra Day O'Connor

Scientists

· George Washington Carver

· Pierre Curie

· Albert Einstein

· Michael Faraday - electrochemist

· Oliver Heaviside - physicist and electromagnetism researcher

· T.H. Huxley

· Blaise Pascal

· Booker T. Washington

Artists

· William Blake

· John Singleton Copley

· Claude Monet

· Grandma Moses

· Charles Peale

· Leonardo da Vinci

· Andrew Wyeth

· Jamie Wyeth

Religious Leaders

· Joan of Arc

· William Carey

· Jonathan Edwards

· Philipp Melancthon

· Dwight L. Moody

· John Newton

· John Owen

· Hudson Taylor

· John & Charles Wesley

· Brigham Young

Inventors

· Alexander Graham Bell - invented the telephone

· John Moses Browning - firearms inventor and designer

· Peter Cooper - invented skyscraper, built first U.S. commercial locomotive

· Thomas Edison - invented the stock ticker, mimeograph, phonograph, and perfected the electric light bulb

· Benjamin Franklin - invented the lightning rod

· Elias Howe - invented sewing machine

· William Lear - airplane creator

· Cyrus McCormick - invented grain reaper

· Guglielmo Marconi - developed radio

· Eli Whitney - invented the cotton gin

· Sir Frank Whittle - invented turbo jet engine

· Orville and Wilbur Wright - built the first successful airplane

Composers

· Irving Berlin

· Anton Bruckner

· Noel Coward

· Felix Mendelssohn

· Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

· Francis Poulenc

· John Philip Sousa

Writers

· Hans Christian Anderson

· Margaret Atwood

· Pearl S. Buck

· William F. Buckley, Jr.

· Willa Cather

· Agatha Christie

· Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

· Charles Dickens

· Robert Frost - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet

· Charlotte Perkins Gilman

· Alex Haley

· Brett Harte

· L. Ron Hubbard

· C.S. Lewis

· Amy Lowell

· Gabriela Mistral

· Sean O'Casey

· Christopher Paolini - author of #1 NY Times bestseller, Eragon

· Isabel Paterson

· Beatrix Potter - author of the beloved Peter Rabbit Tales

· Carl Sandburg

· George Bernard Shaw

· Mattie J. T. Stepanek - 11-year-old author of Heartsongs

· Mercy Warren

· Phillis Wheatley

· Walt Whitman

· Laura Ingalls Wilder

Educators

· Amos Bronson Alcott - innovative teacher, father of Louisa May Alcott

· Catharine Beecher - co-founder of the Hartford Female Seminary

· Jill Ker Conway - first woman president of Smith College

· Timothy Dwight - President of Yale University

· William Samuel Johnson - President of Columbia College

· Horace Mann - "Father of the American Common School"

· Charlotte Mason - Founder of Charlotte Mason College of Education

· Fred Terman - President of Stanford University

· Frank Vandiver - President of Texas A&M University

· Booker T. Washington - Founder of Tuskegee Institute

· John Witherspoon - President of Princeton University

Performing Artists

· Louis Armstrong - king of jazz

· Charlie Chaplin - actor

· Whoopi Goldberg - actress

· Hanson - sibling singing group

· Jennifer Love Hewitt - actress

· Yehudi Menuhin - child prodigy violinist

· Moffatts - Canadian version of Hanson

· Frankie Muniz - child actor

· LeAnne Rimes - teen-prodigy country music singer

Business Entrepreneurs

· Andrew Carnegie - wealthy steel industrialist

· Amadeo Giannini - Bank of America’s founder

· Horace Greeley - New York Tribune founder

· Soichiro Honda - creator of the Honda automobile company

· Peter Kindersley - book illustrator and publisher

· Ray Kroc - founder of McDonald's fast food restaurant chain

· Jimmy Lai - newspaper publisher; founder of Giordano International

· Dr. Orison Swett Marden - founder, Success magazine

· Adolph Ochs - New York Times founder

· Joseph Pulitzer - newspaper publisher; established Pulitzer Prize

· Colonel Harland Sanders - started Kentucky Fried Chicken

· Dave Thomas - founder of the Wendy’s restaurant chain

Others

· Abigail Adams - Wife of John Adams; mother of John Quincy Adams

· Ansel Adams - Photographer

· Susan B. Anthony - reformer and women’s rights leader

· John James Audubon - ornithologist and artist

· Clara Barton - Started the Red Cross

· Elizabeth Blackwell - first woman in the U.S. to receive a medical degree

· John Burroughs - Naturalist

· George Rogers Clark - Explorer

· Davy Crockett - frontiersman

· Eric Hoffer - social philosopher

· Sam Houston - lawyer; first president of the Republic of Texas

· Charles Evans Hughes - jurist; Chief Justice

· Mary D. Leakey - fossil hunter; wife of Richard Leakey

· Tamara McKinney - World Cup Skier

· Harriet Martineau - first woman sociologist

· Margaret Mead - cultural anthropologist

· John Stuart Mill - Free-market Economist

· Charles Louis Montesquieu - Philosopher

· John Muir - naturalist

· Florence Nightingale - Nurse

· Thomas Paine - political writer during the American Revolution

· Bill Ridell - Newspaperman

· Will Rogers - Humorist

· Bertrand Russell - Logician

· Jim Ryan - World Runner

· Albert Schweitzer - Physician

· Sir Ernest Shackleton - Explorer

· Herbert Spencer - philosopher, sociologist

· Gloria Steinem - founder and long-time editor of Ms. magazine

· Jason Taylor - plays in the National Football League

· Mary Walker - Civil War physician; recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor

· Lester Frank Ward - "Father of American Sociology"

· Martha Washington - wife of George Washington

· Frances E. C. Willard - educator, temperance leader, and suffragist

· Frank Lloyd Wright - Architect

· Elijah ben Solomon Zalman - Jewish scholar

Famous Homeschool Parents

Will Smith - singer, actor

· Michael Card - singer, songwriter

· Mike Farris - lawyer and co-founder of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

· Robert Frost - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet

· Christopher Klicka - attorney and Senior Counsel of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

· Len Munsil - attorney and President of The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP)

· Paul Overstreet - musician, songwriter

· Kelly Preston - actress, wife of John Travolta

· Mike Smith - lawyer and co-founder of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

· John Travolta - actor, pilot

· Lisa Whelchel - former actress, "The Facts of Life", now a pastor's wife and author

It's nice to know we are in good company and that we have organizations like HSLDA to fight for our constitutional rights. Time to go educate my children. :)

Obey

Our children's ministry for 2nd and 3rd grades this week was teaching on Obedience. I love my church! We talked about the difference between obey and obeying all the way. You see we can obey and not obey all the way. You know, you ask the kids to clean up their room. They have a few options.
1. Ignore you and hid out in the room.
2. Shove things in the closet, under the bed or wherever they can to get it out of site.
3. Put things where they belong.
Option 1 complete disobedience. Option 2 they obeyed, the room IS cleaner. Right? Option 3 they did it as asked and the room truly is clean. This would be what our church called obeying all the way. The kids went back to their rooms and acted out different scenarios of how they can obey or obey all the way. Obey may include doing it but grumbling and complaining the whole way only to do it half heartedly and at your own sweet time. I am sure some of you parents can relate to this response.
It was Sunday where I learned one of our new family mantras. The lady teaching large group time shared it with us all. In her family it is, "Obey right away, all the way and with a cheerful heart." Brilliant!
This is now the response in our home. Obey right away. When mom or dad ask. Not 10 minutes from now or after your TV show is over. Obey all the way. Completing the task to mom and/or dads expectation. Obey with a cheerful heart. No grumbling or arguing. No throwing things around. No pouty faces. Cheerful. It is revolutionizing our family time.


Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Phillippians 2:14
Do everything without complaining or arguing

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

Colossians 3:20 is our memory verse of the week. I really like it.

Peacock Farms

This week we went on a fabulous field trip to Peacock Farm. Our home school co-op had a group of over 100 people come out. When we first got there they let us loose to explore. First stop was the educational tree and corn maze we made our way through learning about different tree and pumpkin facts. Did you know that pumpkins originated in Mexico?

Then we explored their petting farm. Emu, rabbits, pigs, goats, peacocks, turkey, ducks, geese, horses, pony, a mule, a brown lab and reindeer.


Atop of an old tractor.


My boy, my girl and my niece. Wondering why they are so bundled. It was 38 degrees when we left the house. By the afternoon it warmed to the 50's.


Next we headed to the one room school house. Farmer Ed captivated them with tales of the school bell and life for a student 100 years ago. My favorite part was when he explained discipline and my boy looked back at me with huge eyes. And he thought he had it bad. Ha!


Here is little girl writing her name on a slate


The kids put apples in the hopper and then stood back to watch the workers crank out the fresh apple cider. They then got to taste it fresh from the press.


Another station was old fashion rope making. That black contraption on the left has a series of hooks that a single strand is wove through. Then you crank it to twist the rope together making a strong 6 cord rope.


Here is the boys rope that he made.


Then we rode out on a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. Everyone got to pick their own pumpkin. Here are the girls with their choices. The boy chose the biggest one he could find and wants to make it into pumpkin soup.


Then we got back on the wagon (time machine) and it took us back in time to a pioneer cabin. The kids were fascinated. He then took the group outside to show them how they would wash their clothes. Let's just say I am so thankful we have washing machines these days.


We finished the day with a picnic among friends and played at the park. This is one field trip that was a huge hit.

Proud October Moments

A few highlights of Dear Sons proudest October moments...

At the shooting range with dad.


Receiving His First Grade Bible
Our church hands out bibles to every first grader. We had over 50 first graders at the celebration. To say he was thrilled is a complete understatement. He LOVES his bible!


His very own homemade pizza.


Cutting dad's hair. LOL!!!

God in the Midst of Stress

It is evident to me that God is with us in times of stress and turmoil.

You see my dear friend Kelli experienced a house fire a little over a week ago. Her kitchen caught fire while cooking. Unable to contain it, she woke her husband up to see what he could do. Meanwhile she got her three kids and herself out of the house. Oh and the dogs too. Her husband was able to get it out with the fire extinguisher and the fire department came to make sure it was completely under control. Their kitchen was destroyed and soot covered the whole first floor. But Praise God they were all safe.

And here is how God was in their midst. That week was fire safety at her DD1 Preschool. Her DS had gone to a fire department that week. Both knew to stay calm and listen to mom. They calmly followed her out of the house. She was able to grab a blanket for the baby and the leashes for the dog. Everyone was at peace. I don't know if I could say that for myself or my family in that same situation. God has been with them every step, secondary shelter, claims, contractors, the insurance company. They will need to completely remodel their kitchen but this will only take a couple of weeks and they will be back in the house. GOD IS GOOD and has provided for them above and beyond what they ever imagined.

I found myself in a stressful situation this weekend. After months of preparation and meetings we found ourselves wondering if the numbers to continue on with the weekend would come in. Would we cancel or continue on with the weekend? It was a huge question. A certain number had been set by a board of directors and we found ourselves SOO CLOSE to that number but we were still short. After praying about it, I had perfect peace with the decision to cancel. It was a lot of work calling every one that needed to be informed of the cancellation but through it all, I felt like God had a plan, a purpose and it was good. He gave me strength and a joy to make those calls. He was with me.

In my daily life when my son challenges me during school. I know that God is with me. Now if I would remember more often to pray in this situation. It could be less stressful.

Funny the kids bible verse for Sunday school this week.
Psalm 73:23
You are always with me.

This is SO VERY TRUE.

Dog Whisper Update

Day 2-
The walk.
Today I used the no-pull harness. Hallaluia! This morning I woke up with an extremely sore neck and shoulder blade. I thought to myself, "Wow, we really worked our neck in core class last night." That was until we headed out for our walk. Instantly I knew it was from the pulling straining during yesterday's walk. Goodness. The no-pull harness made the lead a bit longer. To maintain control and keep her behind or at my side, I held the leash with my left hand behind my back as she walked on my right. This worked well. When I needed to correct it was quick and efficiant and I made sure I had her attention.
Other dogs.
She ignored the other dogs today. No barking. Hallaluia! She whimpered as we passed the first one. But no bark, we sat. Commanded quiet. Then continued on.
Cats.
Completely ignored the cat sitting on the porch. Hallaluia!
Time.
Yesterday, we were stopping every other second. Making for an extremely long walk. Today we moved right along with a few corrections. Hallaluia!
The wind chimes.
It is rather windy today. When we came across some wind chimes she went crazy. She was completely anxious. She whimpered and barked. I made her sit, commanded quiet and settled her out before continuing. What is up with that?
Sitting
Before coming in she sat passively on the porch. Before being fed she sat on command. There are times on the walk that I had to force her to sit but by the end she did so willingly at first request. Deep sigh and Hallaluia!

I keep reminding myself consistency.

I may not be the Dog Whisper but I know I learned a few things from him. YEAH!!!

Touch

Many mornings one or both of my children crawl into my bed and snuggle with me. This usually turns into a time of back scratching. Oh, how I love to have my back scratched. I ooh and ahh as I wiggle around to get the perfect spot. My kids love having their backs scratched too. They make up silly names for different moves they make. Like the lemon squeezer, swirlies and hammer. Something about touch. We need it. I am a much happier person because of it.
My cat, she is needy too. She loves to get her daily rub downs. She hop up in my lap and wiggles around to get each and every spot that craves attention. I scratch behind her ears and under her chin. She purrs in delight. DD has learned the art of getting the cat to stay and snuggle with her. She knows all her favorite spots.
My favorite spot, the shoulder blades, blasted bras.

How about you?

Dog Whisper, I AM NOT

When our friends were here from California they introduced us to the Dog Whisper. I had seen the show title while channel surfing but never taken the time to watch it. I don't know thoughts of Dr. Doolittle and mind reading. This is so NOT what the show is about. The show is amazing!
We ended up watching 2 hours worth of Cesar (show host) correct the behavior of dogs and their human companions. Aggressive fighters, yippers, lethargic dog, fearful of vet and pulling. These were some of the dog behaviors we saw in those two hours.
I think I have mentioned here before that I am less than thrilled about our dog and her irritating behaviors. While I know she is blatenly stubborn with me, she can obey (mostly dad.) My favorite line of the show was "All this time we thought it was the dogs, but it is US!" Through inconsistency, yelling, our own fears, lack of discipline or lack of authority, we allow these behaviors. And I am guilty as charged.
Cesar is amazing in how quickly he establishes authority and corrects these behaviors. So amazing that is appears he has special powers. Really I think he is a highly observant man . He is extremely knowledgeable. He can train a person without condemning and he gets results. He totally and complete expects these dogs to respond. I think he only prays the humans will respond as well.
He has some philosophies that totally make sense. You can check them out here. He also has some great techniques. The one that I have started using is the sshhh. Distracting for the misbehavior and getting her attention. It works. He also advocates walking your dog. Since we have a back yard where she can run and play, we have not been talking walks with our dog. When we go camping we walk all over that place and she loves it. So I decided I was going to try and walk Kasi on a more regular basis. I started today. One of his biggest points is that as the human we are the pack leader. We must assume this role and let the dog follow our lead. Every time I have ever walked my dog she has led the way and pretty much dragged me to where she wanted to go. Today I took on the challenge of getting her to FOLLOW me. Yikes. It was one very slow walk as she would push ahead I put her back behind. I think I may have a sore wrist tomorrow with all the tugging. We practiced sitting. And I expected her to stay quiet when we passed the dogs in our neighbor. Sitting and distracting with the Sshhh, did work.
I have to say that it is going to be A LOT of work in retraining myself and my dog. It is going to require consistency on my part. And the expectation that she can and will obey.

So I may not be the Dog Whisper but I am trying to learn a few things from him to make our pack a happy pack.

Check out his site to learn more, http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

Party Pics

Happy Birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Girl

Sweet Girl,

How can it be that you are 4?

You never fail to amaze me. This year you learned to ride your bike without training wheels. Not many three year olds can do that. You also climb your brothers firemens pole and you are almost up the tree in the front yard. You can swing all by yourself, pumping those legs until your soaring. You still love underdogs. I love your sweet smile and your giggles when your are on the swing. You are very active. You like to run and play. You did your very first triathlon, just yesterday. Amazing I tell ya.

It seems that you always have a song in your heart. You sing and dance your way through everyday. You can turn the simplest sentence into a song. All this week you have been singing about a beautiful butterfly in the sky. You can dance. You are very selective who you will dance for. But when you let loose, those hips are just a shakin'. I believe the Lord has blessed you with musical abilities and I pray that you will be able to use them for the Lord's glory.

This year in school you are at the table for most of our school time. You love to learn or more accurately, you like to know what brother knows and keep up with him. You know your days of the week, shapes and colors. You can count to 50 without fail. You recognize all numbers to 10 and most of your letters. You spell and write your name. You enjoy puzzles. You LOVE to read, make up silly rhymes and tell stories. Your imagination is the best. Most of your stories start with, "Once upon a time there was a name named ...."

In play you spend a lot of time with your babies. You tend to pick one each day that goes pretty much everywhere with you. Today your new birthday Barbie got to go to your party and you fed her pizza and showed her everything there was to see. You melted my heart when you put her on the Merry-Go-Round on the horse as you stood next to her. You are going to be the best mommy when you get big.

You love to play Webkinz. You have a bunny, pony and a new kitty. The other day you signed yourself into your webkinz and were so proud of yourself. You love that you can dress your animals and cook for them. You know how to do all the daily activities. That's because you are one amazing kid.

I think I tell you everyday how much I love you. I love your kisses and hugs. I love how you scratch my back and tickle me. I love when you pray. I love when you give me your big smile. You fill my life with joy. I love that you love Jesus and made him your Lord. I love you sweet girl.
Mom

Kids Triathlon

Last week when I was looking through our communities Parks and Rec activities guide, I came across a kids triathlon. I said, "How fun a kids triathlon!" My daughter perked right up and declared that she want to do a triathlon. It was all she could talk about that day. Since I was not sure what our schedule looked like for that day, I tried to encourage without committing. The week passed and she started talking about "her triathlon." I tried calling the parks and rec and got their voice mail. I left a message and did not see their returned message until bedtime last night.
This morning came and I woke her up asking her if she really wanted to do the triathlon. She bolted out of bed. Like the race had already begun and was all for it.
We put on her suit, put sweat pants over it and walked(biked) over to the school. It was at the end of our street. We were able to register. She got her own number and a water bottle. (Pre-registration got bags ands t-shirts as well.) She was happy she was able to race.
The older kids went first. We cheered as they ran around the track and biked. She thought this took a long time.
After all the older kids were finished, it was time for the teddy bear tri. All kids 6 and under.
She lined up on the crack in the sidewalk. The parents were allowed to accompany their kids for the teddy bear. So at go we set off, running together. They did the events in reverse as it was so cold today and they did not want wet heads outside. So off we ran to her bike. A short little course to the door of the school. Then we ran down the hallway to the pool. We quick snapped on her life jacket and off she went swimming. She was so excited, she smiled the whole way down the pool. YEAH!!! We are very proud of her. The day before she turns four and she is our little triathlete.

The run...


The bike...


The swim...


Checking out her cool medal!


Our little triathlete!

He is With Us in Trouble

Hubby has been a traveling man these last couple weeks. On Thursday he was returning home so I went to move the vehicle making room for the truck and trailer he was pulling. As soon as I got out of the vehicle I saw little girl take a header onto the concrete. She went down hard and stumbled back to her feet. I was to her in an instant, taking her in my arms. She had begun to cry. The SILENT cry, the one where you know they are hurt. No faking. The cry where there is no sound, no tears, no breath. "Breathe baby breathe." "Lord be with her." "Breathe baby breathe." I knew that if she did not breathe she would soon pass out. I held her close expecting it to happen. Moments later she passed out, limp in my arms. Scary moment for a mother. She came to with a gasping breath, still crying hard. She began to convulse in my arms. Her body shook and I began to pray. She body went still and I coaxed her to talk. "Talk to Mommy sweety, I need you to talk to Mommy." All the while I am rushing ever so gently to the house, praying over her and pleading with her to talk. Finally she screams out "MOOOOOMMMMMMMYYYYYY" "Praise God, thank you Lord, be with her. Lord heal every bit of her. Let there be no internal bleeding. Let there be no concussion. Restore her."
I place her on the bed with her head on the pillow. I look her over. Strawberry mark on the upper forehead, Slight swelling. Breathing. Crying. Talking. Complaining (never so happy to hear complaining). Note: Get ice.
I locate the ice and phone and call Dad, "Pray, DD hit her head on the concrete, cried so hard she passed out, convulsed in my arms, is now talking, I am still evaluating. PRAY!" He assured me he would, that he would be home in 30 minutes and to call him if anything changed or we needed to go in.
After the call she calmed considerably. I asked her if her head hurt. If she had a head ache. If she remembered what happened. (She tripped) I asked her if she thought she needed to go to the hospital. To which she replied "No, I'm ok." Now a mother has several choices here. One, go to the hospital. Two, wait and see if the situation really warrants a hospital visit. Third, Pray. I opted for a combination of 2 &3. I made her walk to the living room. Talk to me. I checked her pupils for proper dilation. I comforted her.
At this point she is appearing fine. Her worst complaint, her toes are dirty and hurt. So we go take a bath. After the bath she is happy.
Daddy arrives home and she is so happy to see daddy. You would never know of the whole ordeal that took place a half hour earlier.
The neighbors were out and talking with our family and as I shared with her what happened she marveled at how she looked and was acting. She confirmed that things were going to be good and I did not need to take her in.
Praise God!

Psalm 91

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Thank you Lord!

Note: I did wake her up in the middle of the night as is protocol for head trauma. It took some coaxing but she finally relied with a "Mommy! I love you, I'm sleeping." :)

Presidential Candidate

Wonder which candidates carry similar views to your own? Who are you in support of for the presidential race? Take this simple survey to see who is most compatible with your views. You could be surprised. I was NOT surprised Hilary ranked LOW on my list.
http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

Blessed

Last weekend marked my 10th wedding anniversary. Amazing. 10 years. Married to the same man. Heehee.
In the midst of hubbies travels things have been a bit crazy. With him two weeks in Florida during our anniversary, I flew down to spend our anniversary with him. Not far from our original honeymoon. It was great seeing his home away from home. His favorite restuarants, he has many. We enjoyed walks on the beach. Hanging out on the pier, this was my favorite. We saw dolphins, pelican and tons of fish. We ate and ate and ate. Like I said, he so many places to take me. We had no agenda. So it was very laid back and relaxing. The kids were back in Michigan, cared for by loving relatives. God is so good how he prepared the way for all of it. He worked out every detail and provided in ways I could not have imagined. I am blessed!
Oh and I was able to add the states of Florida and Georgia to my geocaching list. We found 2 in Florida, near locations we were already planning on going and I found a virtual in the Georgia airport. YEAH!

Webkinz

How do cute stuffed animals transform into an online animal world? With Webkinz, of course. Webkinz are collectible stuffed animals, much like beanie babies. Although unlike Beanies, Webkinz give access to an online world. Made by Ganz, these adorable animals come with codes for the owner to gain access to Webkinz World. Great idea.
Like I mentioned previously, one of my girlfriends sent us three in the mail. Lucy Goose, Hopscoth the Bunny and Roaring Lion. The kids and I eagerly set up our new rooms. On Webkinz, each animal is given a room that you can decorate as you wish. Each animal comes with 2000 kinzcash. You determine how to spend your money. Buying a bed and bathtub can quickly eat through your cash so on webkinz there are MANY opportunities to earn cash. You can get a job. Every 8 hours you can do your job and get cash. Do it well 3 times and you get a promotion, making more money the next time you do that job. You can play games at the arcade. Family friendly games! The better you do the more kinzcash you can earn. You can take surveys or spin the Wheel of Wow. But my favorite way to earn cash is Quizzy's Corner. A trivia game that is by age and subject. Every right answer earns you $5. Get it wrong and it eliminates your answer and still can get you cash. So even if you have no clue the answer, you can work through the responses until you find the answer. It is like test taking with no penalties for incorrect answers.
The makers of Webkinz wanted this to be a kid safe environment. And I have to say, as a parent I am thrilled with all the safety features they put in place. For one, they have a chat area but it is pre-made sentences. Easy for kids just learning to communicate over the internet. Then there is a Chat Plus option that parents must approve. But even there the kids a restricted on what they can say. Unacceptable words turn red and the message will not be sent. No personal names or numbers are accepted. Meaning no kid can give out their name or address to online predators.
All games are appropriate so there is no need to filter.
The only thing I do not like is the room theme option of a wizard. We are not into wizards, although I do understand many kids are into that. My kids know that wizard stuff is a no go for their rooms, and they seem to be fine with that.
Bonuses of playing:
Understanding of responsibility- You need to take care of your pet. Indicators tell you if it is happy, healthy or hungry. If you click everyday on the daily Kinzcare you earn cash and a free food item.
Knowledge of keyboard- I taught our son his username and password. By typing them in he is learning his way around the keyboard. The other day he completely shocked me when he was able to spell his 14 letter username from memory. Amazing! Made me wonder if he has a photographic memory. I plan to change his password periodically to words I want him to know how to spell and type.
Money management- You have to have money to buy food and furnish your home. If you spend it frivolously you will have to work harder to get more cash. It is a great model of how we need to prioritize our money. You need to eat more than you need new clothes. You can expand your home with new additions, such as rooms to make into a kitchen or bath. Or get an outdoor space so you can grow a garden or get exercise outside. These things cost big bucks, so plan and save to make it happen.
Generosity- You can make friends. You can send your friends letters and gifts. The kids love to do this. And boy do they get excited when they receive a letter.
Learning- With Quizzy's corner I read them the questions and they answer. Things I want my kids to know are being introduced to them in the context of fun.
Easy to use- Even little girl, nearing 4 can completely navigate her way around.
Fun- It is so much fun! Safe fun. My kids love it so much that it has become the most effective discipline tool I have.

Where else can you go to hunt for gems, make recipes or sort boxes to be shipped? Only in Webkinz world. If you have any questions I would love to answer them. For those considering purchasing a Webkinz for themselves or their kids, check out the parents area of the website for a tutorial. For a store that sells them near you, check out the store finder on the site. Most Hallmarks will have them. Hope your family enjoys it as much as we do.
www.webkinz.com

I Pledge Allegiance

The last couple weeks we have been working on the Pledge of Allegiance. This morning I noticed that the boy followed along nearly word for word. After telling him good job, he starts again. Reciting it on his own as proud as can be. Here is his version.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America.
And to the Republic that which it stands
One nation
Under Arrest
and Under God
And indivisible
And justice for all

I love this kid.

What I Have a Blog???

Wow! I never intended to be so negligent of this blog. But it does appear that I have done so.

101 Things I could post about if I took the time. Life is still happening. Let's give little tastes here and there. And then I will try harder to post more consistently.

Wonder why you have been seeing less pictures these days?
My camera is pretty much DEAD. I can charge it all day and it turns on for 3 seconds not even long enough to take a picture. Shot battery...do I buy a new battery or a new camera. Still debating so still no camera. Thankfully my parents and sister-in-law have taken pictures of recent events so we are not completely without photo documentation of life.

Wonder what little girl has been up to?
Amazing growth! In a matter of a couple days she absolutely blossomed. My sister had passed along her daughters smaller bike, albeit without training wheels. Well, needless to say, little girl was not dettered by the lack of additional wheels. For a couple days she shooted about with her feet trying to find her center of balance. Then one day she asked my to help her for a second. 10 minutes later she was riding ALL BY HERSELF! Starting and stopping. She really can only do straight aways as she still wobbles but she is riding BY HERSELF and she is still three. Now that is amazing all in itself. But she did not stop there. That same day she climbing the fireman's pole in her brother's room. 6 feet straight up. Amazing. AND THEN, the next day we were at my mom's and she starts swinging and pumping ALL BY HERSELF. Awesome stuff. It is like her body turned on a switch and said, 'hey let's go to the next level here.'

Wonder how school has been going?
It is going pretty well. DS is doing first grade work. So far he seems to be grasping it. Not all that excited about how many times he is expected to write his name (at least 5 times a day.) He has been doing really well with all the new demands of first grade. At times it is hard sitting still for longer periods. We try and mix it up but book work requires table time and that requires sitting. I am SO thankful little girl is to the age of interest and ability to sit at the table. She loves school and wants to be there at the table. A huge blessing for me. Some of my friends have been struggling with younger siblings, balancing demands of little ones with the teaching of the older. So I am very thnkful that both are doing school, although little girl is not expected to participate as much as her brother she seems to bee eating up all that is being taught. She can count to 50 and I believe this is completely because she soaks up everything being taught to her bro.

Wonder what has sucked lately?
Anxiety. The boys
In late July we went to a large family gathering. Sometime during the day he went to the bathroom and could not figure out how to open the antique lock on the door. He was trapped inside crying until someone heard him and talked him through how to get out. Unfortunately he did not tell us of this experience until nearly a week later. We were somewhere and he started freaking out that he might not be able to get out. Which made no sense until he told us what happened at my uncles. A few weeks after that he went ballistic on his dad that he was going to get locked in an unfamiliar car. It came down to the fact that he was scared he would not be able to open the door. The anxiety has been showing up at church, when he moved up to a new room and different environment. He was crying so hard the leader returned him to my husband. When I talked to him later he was afraid that dad would not be able to find him in the new room. Needless to say we had a LONG talk about how we would never leave him and we would search endlessly until he was found. And that we know how to ask for help. Which brought us to our next issue. Enrichment day. Our home school coop has an enrichment program that meets every Friday. I signed out family up back in the spring for this fall semester. A new experience, in a new building, with new people. In light of the new anxiety I was not looking forward to it. He would tense up at the mere mention of enrichment day. So during our long talk we talked about what his concerns were for enrichment day. The unknown. Friday came and we went early to take a tour. I showed him every room he would use. Offered for him to check out the bathroom and explained his schedule. Then I bribed him. No computer for the entire weekend if there were any fits. The bribe worked. The tour and explaining worked. His leader stood up to take him to his first rotation and he gave me a kiss and said see you later. He had a great time. Gym, Art and Michigan History. He was full of excitement as he should me his project and shared facts he learned about Michigan. While this anxiety has had it's sucky moments I think we may be on our way to licking it.

Wonder where we send most of our computer time?
Hmmm. A girlfriend of mine sent us a package recently. In it three stuffed animals. A goose, a lion and a bunny. Not just any stuffed animals but Webkinz. We totally and completely love them. They deserve their own post. Maybe that is what I will write about tomorrow. I really will try and write tomorrow.

Loves to all!

30

30 is Fabulous!
Funny but it feels ALOT like 29.
My aunt told me "Age is mind over matter, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
To me age doesn't matter. But it was a great reason to have a party and invite all my girlfriends over. YEAH! Because I love Mexican food we had a Fiesta. I love my girlfriends. Without fail I laugh so hard I cry when I am with them. I have some as my son would say "stinkin' halarious" friends. Thanks ladies for making my day.

A TRIBUTE TO DR. RAYMOND MOORE

The following tribute was posted in our homeschool support email. Original author not noted.

On July 13, 2007, Dr. Raymond Moore, known as the grandfather of the
homeschool movement in the United States, died at the age of 91. Today
many homeschoolers may not be familiar with who Dr. Moore was, but in the
early 80’s when many of us first learned about homeschooling it was Dr.
Moore that sparked our interest. Dr. Moore’s research in the early 70’s
and articles published in the 80’s showed that early institutional
schooling was not necessary for a successful education. Dr. Moore’s first
interviews on “Focus on Family” (in 1982) exposed millions of people to
the idea of homeschooling. Personally, those interviews were the ones that
started our journey into homeschooling. These conversations had great
influence on those who eventually became leaders in the homeschool
movement. Mike Smith, president of HSLDA, commented that “Moore was
responsible for exposing our family to homeschooling in 1982. He has a
deep love for children and remained passionate that parents should be
their child’s primary teacher.” (Washington Times Op-ed; Honoring Moore’s
Achievements, August 20, 2007)
Dr. Moore, and his wife Dorothy, faithfully served the homeschool
community for over 50 years, traveling across the country to many courts
and hearings to testify as an expert witness in homeschool cases. The
Moore’s testified in state legislatures when bills were introduced to
legalize homeschooling and spoke at many conferences encouraging families
to educate their children at home. Dr. Moore’s influence will be missed.
For more information on Dr. Moore and his contributions to homeschooling
visit: www.moorefoundation.com. Listen to the original broadcast on Focus
on the Family at http://listen.family.org/daily/A000000601.cfm.

First Day of School 2007

Summer is over! Above pic is of DS doing his famous arm farts at the pool this weekend.
I absolutely LOVE the expression on his face.

Today we started back to school. Since my Literature Arts is being shipped today it will be another week before we go full time. Today we did Math and Handwriting (He wanted to when he was looking through it.) And looked at other materials we will be using this year. I wanted to ease into it so doing Math only this week will get us back in the flow without demanding too much of any of us.

The following are our traditional first day of school shots in front of the house.



My camera is dead so my mom came over to take them.

Here's to a great and blessed year!

Have You Ever...

Have you ever had a moment that as soon as it happens you know something life changing just happened?
Last night I went to the "We Are Chorale" concert reunion. My aunt had traveled home from Maryland to attend her High School Chorale Reunion. 9 years of chorale students reunited for 5 days to practice and reminisce. The end result a beautiful concert giving a taste from the past.
I have to say "Man, we missed out!" These people were raised in an age where prayer was still in school. Their songs were predominantly Judo-Christian. The majority of songs played last night would not even be considered these days. Oh, sure we may still have musicals and "Trouble" or "Soliloquy" could still be sung. Maybe.
Looking through the many faces, most now wearing glasses, I saw contributing members of society. This tight knit group of people had someone who believed in them and inspired them to be all that they could be. Some became professional musicians, another a chief of police, teachers and choir directors. It was apparent to me that this man leading them was a part of their success in life. I realized as well that this man, Oak, was a part of my musical heritage. He instilled a love of music in my aunts who often sang with me on car rides. While my mom was not directly under him in choir he impacted her too. Then there is my choir director from my church choir that I was in during high school. And a dear man who mentors at Visions leading others into the Lord's presence through worship. Each has played a part in my love for music and they each were under the direction and care of this man. It spoke to me about how we impact those around us effects far more than we can see.
The concert was beautiful. Truly talented people. A glimpse of what school was like in the 60's and early 70's. Before email and internet, a connection, community. A deep sense of faith in one another and in God. At the close of the concert I saw the vision's mentor and went up to talk to him. I asked if he was a part of this and the smile in his eyes spoke it all. When we made the connection of who he was and who I was it came down to he was one of my aunt's best friends in high school. We had no idea. At the realization of how huge God is he began to cry. This night spoke of his redemption. Healing the past, where poor choices put an end to some of his most important relationships. It was a taste of just how far he has come and the moment was beautiful. We prayed, we talked. I asked him when prayer left the schools and he shared with me. 1969. We talked about the effects as they were evident.
I guess I left there feeling a few different things. First of all, God is huge. He orchestrated this moment and it was beautiful to see the joy, the healing, the laughter of remembrance. It was a night I am sure none will ever forget. Secondly, that we all are important and we all effect one another more than we realize. I want to be an influence in my world that leads others to a sense of accomplishment, joy and a knowledge of my Savior. The ordinary does accomplish the extraordinary. Third, PRAYER MATTERS! In my home school I still have the right to incorporate prayer into our day. And pray we shall. And lastly that I want to keep singing as there is something miraculous in song.

Thank You Lord!

Friday afternoon I got a call from my sister-in-law. "A tornado is heading toward Lansing." I turned on the TV and all the local channels had storm alerts. I saw the path of the storm and knew I was not wanting to stay in the house through the storm. It took less than a minute to have shoes on the kids and everyone loaded into our car. It was still calm, even partly sunny. I spoke a quick prayer, "Lord, protect our home." and headed for my parents a mile away. There we watched the weather rolling in and the weatherman project the storms path. On of the focal points was the school at the end of street. Our house was the projected path. While a tornado did touch down 10 miles away, they lost sight of the funnel. At the projected time the rain begin to pour. Technology these days! We kept watch out the window ready to break for the basement at any moment. 5-10 minutes later the storm was passed. It calmed. I waited a few more minutes and then headed for home to see if the tree next door had fallen. The winds had been high as was the rain strong. I rounded the corner of my street and it appeared the tree was still standing. Praise God! Yes indeed it is still standing. In the one mile stretch back home I only saw one tree branch down. Amazing. The streets were flooded but all was well. At least for my neighborhood.
Reports came in. Destruction. Houses with roofs gone. Barns collapsed. Power outages. Trees down. A mobile home overturned. Later my husband called, he had to drive through one of the destructed areas. In the evening we drove by to see. A half mile from our home, it looked like the tornado had hit. Trees completely uprooted. Car windows busted out. It was crazy. AND a half mile from my home. It was heading directly for us veered to the south AROUND MY HOME and then veered back north continuing on its path. THE LORD PROTECTED MY HOME!
If the tree standed through that storm I am fairly confident it will stand until Thursday when the tree company takes it down.
Thank you to all who prayed and THANK YOU LORD!

I Tell Ya What

This week has been stressful!
Family camp was nice spending time with fam and playing games. Although the weather was terrible. Crazy rain storms and the like.
Then the tree looming next door. Which is still standing by the way. Thanks for praying. We have been sleeping here, not my desire. Hubby wants to stay put so for now we are. The neighbor has tree removal scheduled for next week Thursday. Still praying it comes down safely with no damage to our home or property.
While considering home stuff we realized our insurance policy had been lapsed. Not intentionally by any means. When policies were transfered a while back the home was completely overlooked. DO NOT ASK ME HOW. All is well now and policy is current. Thank God we discovered this BEFORE we needed it.
Last night I was doing my two week lesson planning as I wanted to start school next week, at least the Literature portion of it. About 45 minutes into my planning I realized that the teachers edition is different from my student work text edition. As in WAY different. Unknowingly I had an edition 1 for teachers and edition 2 for text. So not going to work! I was amazed at how different they were. Stories were not even the same. Looking into it this morning I found that edition 1 was published in 1980. The likelihood of finding new student texts that match my teacher plans are slim. I found one on Ebay but it does not close until Sunday night and other people have already bid on it showing interest. I can not risk waiting until Sunday. I need these materials NOW. As in pronto. I asked my son if he prayed that school would not start next week and he confessed he did. So apparently God is listening to my son's prayers. Edition one has 165 lessons for reading, it looks like edition 3 (which we will probably end up with) has even more. I tell ya.
Oh Yeah ...AND I have been sneezing like crazy from allergies. This has not been a good week for me.

Please Pray For My House

Hello All...
Please be in prayer for the safety of our home. This morning the neighbors tree was struck by lightning and remains standing. However the integrity of this huge tree is uncertain. Our house is directly in the line of fire as is our neighbors depending on how it comes down. The neighbor is not sure when it will be taken down. I have chosen to evacuate until further notice. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE staying in the house as our bedroom is directly under it. I will try and update but please PRAY!!!
Thanks!

Highlights of Ludington

I LOVE CAMPING!!!
So much so that nearly the whole month of August is devoted to it. Well, not the whole month but certainly most of it.
For 12 days the kids and I went to Ludington State Park with my parents and dear friend. I love it there. There is SOO MUCH to do. All within the confines of the park you can go out on the boat to Hamlin Lake, canoe, lazy river tube down the Au Sable River, hike, bike, geocache, climb sand dunes, play on the beaches of either Lake Michigan or Hamlin(Lake Michigan has waves/Hamlin is calm), climb a lighthouse, there is large variety of activities throughout the day led by park naturalist and voluteers. There is always something to do. That does not even touch the time back at camp lounging around reading or sitting around the camp fire.
So obviously this place is one of our favorites. It is also loved by many others which makes it esp. hard to get into during the summer months. Exactly six months in advance, usually in the first 5 minutes of the reservation center opening THE PLACE IS BOOKED. Thankfully we got in this summer. The kids have been here many times but during fall color change when the salmon are running. The last time we had made it up for the summer months was when DS was 4 months old. Since we made it during the summer this year the place was overflowing with kids. And God smiled on my dear ones as we were surrounded by them. We had 4 first grade boys with their younger sisters. Perfect playmates for my kiddos. The parents took turns supervising as they made their way around from site to site as a little pack. Those first few days it was hard to keep track of the boy as he wanted to be with his friends. I never had to look far, he was at one of the surrounding sites with one of his new pals. Since our site backed up to a sand dune and wooded area it made for a great place area for the kids. Giving me time to sit back and read while still being able to see what they were up to. I actually got through a trilogy on this trip. Woohoo!
The kids and I like to canoe so we brought ours along. On our first night there, the naturalist led a canoe tour through parts of Hamlin and Lost Lake. It was nice and informative. Ludington has an elaborate canoe trail for those wishing to explore the wetlands. While we did not do this with the naturalist we decided we would give it a try later in the week. On one calm morning we packed a picnic lunch and headed across Hamlin to a shelter to do a geocache that was nearby. We made our find, ate our picnic and chatted with some hikers who had hiked out to the shelter. Nice trip! Near the end of our stay we had another calm morning so the kids and I (including my niece who joined us) packed another picnic and headed out to explore the canoe trails. However, it is a ways out to the entrance and what started out calm, turned to wind and waves. Not too ferocious so we pressed on. We made it to the entrance of the canoe trail. My mom and Bob decided to fish near the end to watch for us to come out. We paddle along through overgrown lilypads and weed thick paths. Then we hit our first stump. The kids grow concerned and think we should go back. I maneuver around it and we press on. When we made it to our first portage we had our picnic lunch and picked blueberries. Pond to second portage was very nice. Pond to third portage was a bit stumpy but easy to get around. The pond to our last and final portage was more than the kids could bear. Following the arrows we found ourselves stuck. It was very mud and rather shallow. This alone had the kids concerned. When we came upon the two down limbs they lost it. "Were gonna die" "How will we get out of here?" "I don't like this." "I want my mom." "Let's go back." amidst tears. When I could not get over the limbs we turned back around to take an alternative path. I could now see Hamlin Lake ahead and knew we were nearly there. Yet my niece would not be calmed. She cried for the next 20 minutes as we worked our way through the VERY THICK lily pads. Finally we arrived to the last portage and the end of the trail. Or so we thought. It turns out there was an additional route and the END END was around the bend. Meaning my mom was out of sight. The kids played in the water and calmed down but it was obvious they wanted nothing more to do with the canoe. I decided to go around the bend to alert Mom and Bob that we there at the first exit. The depth of the water and the waves that were coming in made taking the kids not a great option. I opted for leaving them in a cove with the understanding that they stay put and look out for each other. I made may way to the point and could see their boat, I yelled back to the kids that I saw them and then made my way closer to them to get their attention. Finally they heard me and came to pick me up. Then we made our way to the kids. Who were crying again. Even though I had been gone a total of 15 minutes and less than 5 of it out of their sight. I loaded them into Bob's boat, rescued and we tied the canoe to trail behind. All the kids have absolutely NO desire to ever canoe the trail again.
The visitor center has well done displays explaining the local history and wild life. My favorite was the monarch display. When we first arrived they had over 20 caterpillars and many chrysalis. On our second trip DS was showing grandpa the display when he noticed that one of the caterpillars was morphing. For the next minute we watched in awe as it transformed from a caterpillar into its chrysalis. It was not like anything I expected. Here is what happened, somewhat sci-fi like. The head of the caterpillar split open to expose a green goo like substance. It then continued to shed it's skin as it did a swirling dance motion. Wiggling and squirming it made it's way completely out of it's skin until it was this green glob hanging. For the next hour it dried with a yellow band slowly making the gold drops that I love. It was so AMAZING! We made frequent trips back to the visitor center and watched as more chrysalis appeared. We had hoped to catch a butterfly emerging but never did time it right.
While away we attended another geocaching event. This one was a meet, eat and greet in a park in Grand Rapids. Making it a nice place to meet my sister to get my niece and nephew. We did some caches in the park, met some new cachers, saw some we have seen before, ate some good food and overall had a good time. Add this to the geocaches we found in the Ludington area and we are now up to 167 finds. I think we will have no problem making it to our goal of 200 finds for 2007. It will probably end up being more like 250+.
Now home with the laundry done, I think it's time we headed out to go camping again.
I will attempt to post pictures at the end of the month when we slow down enough to get it done.
Have a great week and get outdoors!