Franklin Springs Family Media

Last Christmas, my family bought me several films from Franklin Springs Family Media. I'm just now taking time to watch them and I have to tell you, I love them! My favorite so far is the Eden String Quartet: A Bountiful Blessing. From the back of the box:

Their road to becoming accomplished musicians has been anything but ordinary. Join the Miller sisters - Megan, Krista, Leah, and Therese - on the fascinating journey from their family’s cattle ranch to their distinction as an outstanding stringed quartet. The beneficiaries of a multi-generational vision for God-honoring family, the Millers encourage, entertain, and inspire an appreciation of hymns and classical music - and for the building of families that honor the Lord.

The music is beautiful and seeing this family together is a true blessing. I wish I had home theater seating so that I might invite family and friends over to watch it with me. Since I don't, I hope that I will be able to share this wonderful DVD with each family or friend that comes into our home. If you haven't heard of Franklin Springs Family Media, look them up and check them out. There are many wonderful films waiting to bless you!

Loving The Wii

Well, we've been spending more time with the tv lately. Since we got the Wii, I've enjoyed watching the girls play. I finally created my "Mii" and I have to say, she does look a little bit like me. It's quite scary. The complaint I have is that all of the noses you can choose are just ugly! I've got this cute little character that looks like she had a bad nose job!

There are so many cool things about this thing that it's hard to name them all. Now, I'm not a real fan of console games normally. We purchased an Xbox a few years ago and I think it was the biggest waste of money ever. However, the Wii is really, really cool. The girls just showed me a feature that allows you to read news via the Wii. It somehow picks up your internet connection and gives you the latest news! I'm also loving the fact that playing it forces you to get off your hump and get active. You can check the weather. You can upload digital photos from your cell phone or camera.

The funniest thing I've seen out of it yet though is a game called Charge! Logan had a sleep over this past weekend and my stomach is still sore from laughing so hard at four 14 year old girls playing that game! Your character rides a cow around a dirt track while you jump hurdles and try to run into scarecrows that earn you points. The girls spent most of their time running into trees! It was so funny!

I'm looking for other tried and true games to purchase. I'm looking at American Idol. For those of you that have a Wii, do you have any game suggestions for us? We'd love some really fun ones that we can play with multiple people. We want to start doing Friday night game nights with friends. I'd love to hear what games your family likes.

Confessions of A Homeschool Mom

I have to confess that I have a new fix. First, let me say that I really love teaching my children at home. I enjoy every aspect of teaching them and would not trade it for anything in the world. I know there is no better place for them than right here with me....all day long.

I'm always looking for ways to incorporate interesting videos, books, tv shows, and such into our learning. Sometimes I happen upon these things without really searching. Such was the case last night. We don't watch tv much but lately we've had it on for March Madness. I was flipping to see if there were any games on when I came across the Discovery Channel. There I found a show called How It's Made and was hooked when I heard them explaining how panty hose were made. I left it on and for the next hour, I learned the process of making panty hose, toilets, RVs, styrofoam packaging, pottery, hard candy, decorative candles and erasers. Oh....My.....Goodness. It was so neat! I made a mental note to set the DVR to record this show when it comes on so that we can use it for science. If you haven't seen the show, you owe it to yourself to sit down and watch it. In fact, I'm going to do just that. The current episode will show how to make prepared mustard, violins, nuts and bolts, and toilet paper. Pretty soon, I'll know how everything is made!

The Return of LOST

Our favorite show comes back on tonight. I'm talking about LOST, of course! We are very excited! Last night, the final episode from the previous season came on. We had already seen it but we watched it again anyway! It's amazing how gripping this show is. I had no intention of getting hooked on another series but when some church friends loaned us Season One on DVD, we were hooked. I can't tell you how many nights Jeff and I spent watching the first season. We would watch an episode and when it ended, we had to move on to the next episode. Even though we had DVD's and could watch them anytime, we couldn't break away. We were so curious as to what would happen next.

Tonight will be no exception. The two hour premiere comes on and we have cleared the evening just so we can enjoy it. I've talked to a few people who have never watched the show. All I can say is once you start, you can't stop. If you are able to stop watching it, you must be some kind of super human! Already, I'm thinking about what might happen in the premiere tonight. Will Jack and company get off the island? Is this rescue boat really a rescue boat? There are about 1,000 other questions on my mind and I hope the next two years will be exciting ones. The show will end in 2010 and that's not really a long time to wrap up a story line like this.

LOST comes on ABC from 8:00 to 10:00 tonight. Will you be watching? I will, so don't call me during those two hours because I won't answer! LOL!

Dog the Bounty Hunter

I'm going to tell on myself a little here. Recently, I was flipping through the channels late at night and came across the show "Dog the Bounty Hunter". I stopped and watched about three episodes of it. I'm not sure why but I'm fascinated by the show. Besides the fact that Dog's wife needs to cover herself a little better, I find myself entertained by watching them hunt people down. It looks dangerous and there's no way I'd ever attempt to do this sort of thing. I'm surprised they don't encounter more violence with some of the people they hunt.

Something that cracks me up is the way they wear their gear. I mean, really, a bullet proof vest with a tank top? It just doesn't look safe to me. I'm no expert but I think Dog should leave his cowboy boots at home and opt for a safer alternative. He really needs to check out 5.11 Tactical Outdoors. They offer a variety of gear for law enforcement, firefighters, and military personnel. They have everything from pants, shirts, and boots, to flashlights, watches, and holsters. Dog really needs to check them out and get his team in apparel that is made for this rough kind of work. Someone needs to remind him that the golden rule is "safety first" and that's exactly what type of gear 5.11 Tactical offers.