Go Vote for J4!!!

Silly me. I don't know how I could have forgotten to blog about something as exciting as some homeschool kids competing on national television for a CBS recording contract! What's even more exciting is that these homeschooled kids are local and we attend co-op with them! Bad me! Bad me!

J4 is a local group out of Bluff City, TN. They are made up of four brothers and sisters, ages 7 to 14, and they have lots of talent. They are great kids. They also have great parents. Their mother heads up the co-op where Logan takes classes each Monday. Their father is a pastor. Wonderful family.

They competed today on the Early Show, in the semi-final round of competition. There are three families left. Voting is open through 6pm (ET) tomorrow. The two families who have the highest number of votes will go on to compete in the final round next week. This has been a dream come true already for this family. They are so thankful to have the opportunity to represent the homeschool community and they have made us proud! Please go check them out and remember to vote!

CBS Early Show

Read more about J4

Leg Warmers, Converse, and Life

Well, it's official. Our teenage daughter has discovered fashion. I had hoped that the whole fashion scene would pass right by her. For awhile, it worked. Being homeschooled, she doesn't really have to get up each morning and wonder what she's wearing to school. She usually just wears her pajamas and that's perfectly normal around here :-) However, once a week she attends co-op classes and in doing so, has made other teenage friends who are fashion conscious. Great....woo hoo.

Actually, I have to admit, I'm glad she's found her sense of fashion (to some degree). The problem is, it's very scattered. I am drawn to a very classic style. Our teenager......not so much. We hardly ever agree on anything she wants to buy....unless it comes to 80s fashion. I was a teenager in the late 80s and remember leg warmers, big ear rings, big hair, things like these Nooka watches, and parachute paints. The latest thing with her is her desire for a pair of Converse high tops. You remember, the ones that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wore when he played basketball. I think they're cute. The man of the house hates them.

I am very thankful that so far, these are the hardest issues we've had to deal with as far as parenting goes. Our girls have always been pretty easy to discipline.We never had to deal with back talk or attitude issues. Now that I think about it, that is a HUGE blessing. If fashion is the biggest issue we have, then I can handle that! Now, if I can just convince the hubby that Converse, leg warmers, big hair, and hoop earrings really are cool....... :-)

Snow, Movies, and Upchuck

We finally got a few inches of snow this evening. It's cold as whiz and when we noticed the snow was coming down pretty heavy, we decided to make a movie store run. After picking up a couple of good prospects, and Jeff doing some doughnuts in the grocery store parking lot, we made it home and settled in for the night. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with that man!

After reading a little bit, I decided to catch up on my DVR recordings of House and ER from the past couple of weeks. When they were finished, we decided to start one of the movies. By this time, it was already a little after 1AM. We should have said no but we love to punish ourselves by not getting nearly enough sleep! We were watching The Mirrors, which is a little creepy to begin with. With about fifteen minutes left to go in the movie, sweet little Caroline came strolling in with this horrific look on her face. She's scared of her own shadow so I figured the movie had awakened her and the creepy music had scared her socks off. She attempted to screech out a few words and the only ones I heard were "my stomach." I immediately jumped up because this kid never mentions her tummy unless something is REALLY wrong. Five minutes later, I'm peeling the sheets and comforter off her bed. As usual, her "my tummy" turned in to throw up everywhere at 3AM. Why oh why?

Thirty minutes later, all is right with the world again. Throw up is cleaned up. Nasty bedding is tucked into the hamper. Baby girl is asleep on the floor with her trash can by her side. I scurried back downstairs to watch the ending of the movie, which disappointed me. Now, here I sit....at 4AM....with visions of throw up in my head....it was a horrific sight....it was a chocolate cake/spaghetti noodle combo. How in the world am I supposed to sleep on that?

Gross....just gross!

Homeschool Masquerade Ball 1/2009

Logan attended a homeschool masquerade ball this weekend. This was her first formal event, complete with her first formal dress, high heels, jazzed up hair, and make up. She was thrilled and looked beautfiul! I think we finally realize that our baby girl is growing up! My niece, Hannah, helped with hair and make up and did a great job. I know who to call if I ever find myself in need of a good stylist :-)

One last glance in the mirror......

 

Fully dressed and ready to go......

 

Close up.....

Hannah (my niece), Logan, hubby, and Caroline

Birthday Fun

What a fun day we had with Caroline on her birthday. Here are various photos of the day.

Caroline got this cute mouse Webkinz from her big sister

Next, we all got to put on these beautiful shoes. The girls got the prettiest ones.

Caroline was a little embarrassed at first. This was her first time bowling.

She got over it and quickly got to work.

Caroline & I took a break, since I was winning :-0

You know your baby is growing up when she starts complaining that you are taking too many pictures of her.

What a blessing this little girl is to her family. She and her big sister bring so much joy into my life. My life would not have been half as fulfilling without them in my life. I am truly blessed that they call me mom.

 

Happy 10th Birthday

Ten years ago today, at 10:55a.m., the sweetest little red-head in the world was born. She wasn't red-headed at first. That beautiful surprise came later. She was cute and tiny. Her head was cone shaped for a little while. She looked like a baby doll. She decided that she wanted to make her entrance into the world the night before....while we had friends over and were playing Tri Bond. It was quite the exciting evening. You see, my water broke while we were playing the game and I wasn't sure what was happening. With my first pregnancy, I was induced so my water had never broken. Anyway, I got up without telling anyone what had happened and went to the bathroom. Of course, I was too embarrassed to come back out and called to hubby to call the doctor. Our friends had recently had a baby and were in no real hurry to leave. In fact, I think they hung around for at least 45 minutes while I stayed holed up in the bathroom :-) They all reassured me that this was normal but I was convinced that if I didn't get to the hospital, the baby was going to be born on the bathroom floor. It seems kind of funny to think about it now because I wasn't even having contractions. Hubby ended up talking to the doctor, who told us to go on to the hospital to get checked out. We arrived there shortly after and found that we were in for a long night. Looking back, I wish I could have just been patient and spent that last night in my own bed.

But this post is not about me. It's about my sweet baby. Caroline was a sweet baby and her big sister was lots of help during the early years. At first Caroline had her days and nights mixed up and it was hard for me to sleep. Couple that with the fact that hubby had the flu the whole week after she was born and couldn't be of much help at all. I was a basket case. Caroline didn't cry much....except when I put her down. I didn't spoil her by holding her. She just liked to scream her head off whenever I laid her down. That lasted for about three months and somehow I managed to survive. As each year passes now, I am reminded of just how precious time is. Babies don't stay little for very long. In fact, these ten years have flown by. I am thankful for my children. I am thankful for the wonderful craziness Caroline brings to my life. She is one of a kind.

In honor of her birthday today, here are ten things about her. There are so many things I could list but these are the ten things that come to mind right away.

1. What they say about red heads is soooo true! Caroline has a fiery personality and I have confidence that NO ONE will ever walk on her.
2. She is turning into a wonderful piano player.
3. She is obsessed with making videos on a digital camera. She does this every single day. She never seems to tire of it.
4. She loves to write letters to friends or to write journal entries.
5. Her favorite thing to eat is macaroni and cheese. Not just any mac 'n' cheese....my MIL's is her fav. She's always quick to tell me that my mac is good....but not as good as her granny's.
6. She is NOT a morning person. Let her sleep until at least 10 each morning and she's good. Otherwise, it takes her a long time to get going.
7. She has an infectious laugh.
8. She loves to eat sour cream by itself. She will dip a spoonful out and go to town. She also really likes cottage cheese (ACK!).
9. She always, always, always says goodnight before she goes to bed. She still gives us hugs and kisses and says the same thing every night before going to bed. It's become a routine of sorts and I love it!
10. She is one of the funniest people I know. She could keep a crowd entertained for hours.

Happy Birthday baby. Mommy loves you.

Thankful for the Little Things

Back in 1999, when the idea of homeschooling first became a reality for our family, I really felt like there was no way it would last. I didn't feel competent to teach my then first grader. Plus, I had a baby under 1 and, for the first time in a long time, felt lost in my life. I had worked for so many years. Now, suddenly I had two children to care for and a husband who wanted me to be at home....not somewhere else working eight hours a day. It felt like a curse at the time. I had the same attitude that sadly, many mothers have toward their children. "How in the world can I deal with these kids all day long, much less be responsible for their education?" That was the daily burning question in my mind.

Nine years later, I cannot imagine life being any different than it is now. I can't imagine putting my children on a bus and sending them off to public school for most of the day. Sure, there are days when I want to pull my hair out. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that. There are days when we get nothing done besides cleaning up messes (and there are lots of those). There are days when the girls want to sleep late. We have days when they don't want to school at all. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Mom, can't we take the day off from school?" There are many days when we run into problems with math concepts and I think that we will never get through them. There are days when I want to quit. There are days when I wonder why God entrusted me with these two souls to care for. There are days that I am ungrateful because He hasn't given me more.

It never fails though. Days like today come.... days when I look around and see the mess and think, "what's the big deal?" When a friend emails to say that she sure is glad I want to take the rest of the month off from our joint Latin class because we both have lots of holiday obligations to deal with. Days when another friend emails me to tell me that it is complete bedlam at her home and we have ourselves a good laugh. And days when black hand prints all over the wall brings a smile to my face. In comparison to what God sacrificed for me, my problems and complaints are nothing. Less than nothing even.

I am thankful for children. I am especially thankful for my own children. I cherish the privilege of spending every waking hour with them. I am thankful for the wonderful journey of educating them at home. I am thankful for one's ability to read a 900 page book in a day and for her continual complaints of how she will never use Algebra or Biology in her future. I am thankful for the other's musical and creative ability and for going at her own pace when it comes to math. Maybe most importantly, I am thankful that I have black hand prints to wash off of my walls.

Where Do The Photos Keep Going?

Caroline has become obsessed with our digital camera. At first, I thought it was kind of neat that she liked to take pictures and was always asking to do so. That was before she discovered that our camera could also act as a camcorder of sorts. You can record short videos with it and Caroline has come to love this feature. I have no idea how she even figured this out. She just sort of started doing it. At first, the videos were cute and silly. They would last for twenty seconds and be over. Lately however, the videos have grown in length and are starting to really break me down!

It started happening a few months ago. I would take nice pictures and sit the camera down with the intention of downloading them later on. Caroline would ask me if she could make a video of herself and her Webkinz. No harm in that, right? I would go back later to download the photos I had taken earlier and a funny thing would happen.....not all of my photos would be there. After I had forty breakdowns, I figured out that Caroline had deleted some of the photos so that her video would fit on the camera. WHAT? How did she figure that out?????

On Thursday, I made sure to take several pictures of our Thanksgiving spread. I wanted to compare the table pictures each year to see how they varied. I took a few pictures of the food, a few of the kids, and put the camera on the table with the intention of downloading the photos Thanksgiving night. So when I settled down on the couch later that night and started to download the pictures, a funny thing happened. I didn't figure it out immediately....it took me about a minute. Some of my photos were missing. That's when I noticed the video file. It didn't hit me right away because the kids had asked to record a Thanksgiving message to send to one of their friends online and I had allowed it. However, when I played the video, it was sixteen seconds of nonsense. That's when the top of my head started to get hot :-) I knew right away what had happened to my photos. They were gone....never to be recovered. Come to find out, the kids had in fact recorded a video message to their friends up north. But it wasn't on the camera. Caroline had deleted it and about ten of my pictures so that she could shoot sixteen seconds of nonsense.

Ahhhhhhhh, I took a deep breath and later got over it, but not before letting her have it. Needless to say, she is barred from ever using our digital camera again. The only way she'll ever take another picture is if she has her own camera, which I currently refuse to purchase. I'm simply dumbfounded that a 9 year old could possibly think to delete photos so that she could squeeze a video onto the camera. I assume she was just messing around and figured that one out. Looks like I'll have to tie her hands and feet up whenever I'm not around. Maybe that way she'll stay out of trouble.....but I doubt it :-)

 

Granny and Me Craft Day

A few weeks ago, my mom came down for a visit and brought lots of projects for the girls to do with her. The house was upside down for a few days but they had a blast. I've determined that we need to do lots more of this. I don't think I cleaned anything for at least three days, which was quite liberating for me!

Mom made sure to carefully instruct Caroline

The result were these cute little Christmas trees

They made the trees with felt and buttons. They attached a twig to the bottom to make the tree trunk.

Later on, they worked on making scarecrow pillows. Logan runs when I get the camera out so I only got a picture of her pillow.

Logan's handiwork

Mom also helped Logan and I make costumes for a party we attended this past weekend. I guess I should say that mom pretty much made the costumes herself. She worked really hard and they turned out well. Logan did sit still long enough for me to get a picture of her at the party.

The force was with her......

Thanks mom! We appreciate all of your hard work and we really enjoyed ourselves!

Catching Up

Jeff & I (Summer 2008)

After having my quiet morning alone on Monday, things are getting back to normal around here. Having half the day to myself was very nice and refreshing. I had hoped to sleep in but my biological clock just will not let me sleep much later than 7:30 on most mornings. I did get several things done around the house and I finally have a handle on our homeschool schedule. Logan is enjoying her co-op classes and is balancing those pretty well with her additional studies at home. One of her friends told me that all she did while at co-op was study. That's my girl! I've been able to help with Spanish a lot and that's been really fun for me. I love languages so being able to help her study is icing on the cake.

I've loaded Caroline down with language arts material this year. She loves to write and is constantly asking me if she can get a new notebook for her "stories." It's quiet amusing and I want to encourage her to develop her writing skills. Now, if I could just get her to work on her organizational skills! We are constantly having to search high and low for her pencil or her pencil sharpener. And shoes.....the child can rarely ever find her shoes! It's good to have a child who is nothing like me as far as organization goes. I'm not the neatest person in the world but I have ordered chaos. I put things in piles and usually know where everything is. I'll find Caroline's stuff under beds, couches, outside, or somewhere that you'd never think to look.

She's very eager for me to teach her to cook certain things. The problem is, she's so scared of the stove. She's afraid of being burned and because of that, it makes it hard to really teach her to make things. I'm going to try a few easy recipes next week and see how she does. I'm not sure why she's so scared of being burned. Maybe it's because we taught her that it was hot when she was small. I hope she'll overcome that quickly though because I would love to have more help preparing meals. Ok, I'll just fess up. I'd love to have someone else cooking the meals a few nights a week!

Not much else going on around here. Last weekend a girlfriend and I did get a night out. We went to Red Lobster and ate the most wonderful shrimp! We were kind of celebrating the weight we had lost since February. After supper we went to see The Women. The movie kept us laughing although it did have more language than I would have liked. The movie theater was packed and there were only seven men in the show. Yep, I counted. I wondered how many dedicated hubbies would accompany their wives to see this one. It's an all gal movie and it was fun.

I'm hoping that my blogging slump is over and that I'll start to write more each day. It seems like this happens to everyone at some point in their blogging life. I'm reading a good book right now and I've seen several pretty good movies lately so I'll be back with reviews real soon!

Until next time......

 

Who Needs Alone Time

I have the morning to myself. Logan is off at co-op classes and Caroline stayed all night with my MIL last night. The house is extremely quiet and I'm not really sure what to do with myself. Isn't that funny? You'd think I would be off playing the Wii or researching the PS3 but I find that when the kids are gone, I'm at a loss. I'm sure glad they aren't gone very much! The silence would kill me!

No, I think this morning I'll relax a bit, finish up my laundry, and clip some coupons. I'll pass the time until this afternoon. Then the fun begins. I'll pick Logan up from co-op and take Caroline to piano lessons. We'll rush home and try to get supper on the table by the time the hubster gets home. We'll have a nice family meal, do some reading, and then pile up on the couch for Monday Night Football.

Ah, life is good!

Caroline: Outer Banks 2008

I mentioned that Caroline got at least 100 new freckles while we were at the beach. The proof is in the pudding:

The Beginning of A New Year

We finally started our new school year on Monday. It is my habit to start right after Labor Day but we were delayed an extra week this year due to being on vacation. The week has gone pretty well. We've been able to pick up our full schedule without many glitches. Caroline is a 4th grader this year and Logan is a 9th grader. The only change in our schedule has been the addition of a co-op day for Logan. She's taking IEW (Institutes for Excellence in Writing), Apologia Biology w/lab, and Juntos Uno Spanish . She seems to like all the classes and is doing well. She is at co-op from 8:45 until 3:30 each Monday. I worried that she'd be really tired and looking for the nearest exit sign out of there after such a long day. However, she surprised me and really is enjoying it.

In addition to these three classes, she will be using AO Lifepacs to round out her English credit, Saxon Algebra I, and TruthQuest history. She is also leading the Latina Prima class we started with our neighbors up the street. She'll be earning some extra credit for doing that. The only thing we have left to figure out is what to do for the PE credit she needs.

It's a little strange to have a high schooler. It seems like only yesterday we started homeschooling her but it has been eight wonderful years. Before we know it, she'll be finished with school, married, and out of the house! Until then I'm going to enjoy these last few years of teaching her and pray that she will be a blessing to everyone around her. She's a special young lady and I'm proud to call her my daughter.

 

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.

Belated Birthday

Logan had a birthday last week and I forgot to mention it here. She turned 14! We took her to supper and came home to watch a movie with her. It was a fun evening. We ordered her birthday present a bit late so we didn't actually have it on her birthday. Instead we had to improvise. Hubby got online and printed out a picture of her gift and put it in an envelope. While we were eating, he gave her the envelope. She opened it and quickly became giddy. What did we get here? Well, we looked at womens gold watches but quickly decided she'd rather have something more fun. No, she opened the envelope to find a picture of a Wii!!!! She was so excited. I think we were equally as excited because we had heard so much about this thing.

A few days after her actual birthday, we received her package. She quickly read the instruction manual and figured out how to hook it up herself. She wasn't wasting any time! Both girls and hubby have played with it and even had sore muscles afterwards. I haven't messed with it much yet, except to create my "Me." Whatever that is! LOL! It's been great fun to watch them playing it. I'm hoping to get some pictures of them playing it so I can post them and show you just how much fun it is. The thing I really like about it is that it is so physically interactive. I can see the Wii Fit in my future :-o)

Is it wrong to love someone's gift as much as they do? I sure hope not! If so, I'm in big trouble! Does anyone have game suggestions? I saw the American Idol game last night and thought it looked pretty fun. I've also heard a lot about Dance Dance Revolution. If you know of any good ones we should get, share the love and tell me about them!

Friendship Is Nice

I found this on the kitchen table today. The girls had been playing outside while I cleaned out our pantry. I was feeling tired and run down so I sat down to rest for a minute and that's when I found this note from Caroline. In case you can't read it well, here's what it says:

I Love You!

Friendship is nice and also very good. I hope you understand that I love you very much.

Caroline

The two little stick people in the drawing are Caroline and myself, holding hands and saying I love you to one another. Caroline writes me sweet little notes a lot. She'll just leave them lying around. She loves it when I write her back and leave it for her to find. There are times that I wonder if my children like me at all. Throughout the day, I'm working with them on their studies, chores, and countenance. Sometimes I forget to stop and enjoy them. Many times I don't stop to smell the roses. Just when I feel like the worst parent in the world, they reveal their true feelings for me. Then all is right in the world again because I am reminded that:

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalm 127:3)

We pray for many more.....

Fads, The Coming and Going

Last night, we were outside working and our conversation turned to fads that were around in the 80s. You remember them.....leg warmers, big hair, banana clips, Michael Jackson, leather pants, red Reeboks. And what was it with the guys who wore those long dangling earrings in one ear? At least those are the things that were hot in my neck of the woods. The funny thing is, I had or knew someone who had all of those things. I'm sure I've mentioned my Michael Jackson craze back in the day. Don't laugh. He still looked like a man then! I had it bad. I even had the red leather jacket replica....and the silver sequence glove. Yep, I'm sad, I know. It's funny to think back on those days but what's even more surprising to me is that some of those fads are coming back. Our oldest daughter is obsessed with getting leg warmers. I tried explaining to her that some fads need to stay in the past, leg warmers being one of them! LOL!

The girls have gone through many fads. Some of the most recent were pink ballerinas and horses. The ballerinas died hard when we stopped taking our youngest to ballet lessons. The horses lasted for awhile. In fact, they are still around to some degree. We put up horse border in their bedroom and it's still there. The craze of all things horse has all but settled down, finally. There was a time when Logan was taking horseback riding lessons. That whole summer, she was crazy about horses and anything that had to do with them. She wanted us to move to the country so that she could buy a horse and keep it on the land she wanted us to purchase. I have no idea where she thought we would get all of the cash to make this happen. Anyway, there's a farm supply store near our house and I remember her begging me to take her there. She just wanted to look around. Then she discovered that Petsmart carried saddles , helmets, and other basic riding supplies. It was crazy! She would spend so much time looking through things and talking about how she would use this piece of equipment or that piece of clothing.

Seeing the kids go through these stages reminds me of being a kid. Isn't it fun to think back on all of the crazy phases you went through at their age? If nothing else, it's great entertainment! I'm still laughing at some of the things my friends and I liked. Remember DeBarge? They had that wildly popular song, "Rhythm of the Night." I remember my best friends and I making up a dance to that song. I'm so glad my mom never invested in a video camera!

How about you? What things did you love back in the day? Come on, you can share. I promise I won't laugh.....well, maybe a little!

Knives and Spoons and Forks, Oh My!

I have a confession to make. I'm obsessive. There. I've said it. I feel better now that I've got it out. Now, before I get started, let me just say that I know some of these things are crazy. I'm not sure where they came from or why they are big issues to me. I blame my mother (don't we all).

One thing that really bugs me is when someone loads a knife into the dishwasher with the sharp point up. HELLO? That is dangerous and needs to be flipped. Seriously, I have almost cut my finger off unloading a dishwasher loaded this way. I just don't understand why other people don't realize how dangerous it could be. Am I crazy? This has been a big issue around our house lately. Caroline has a terrible habit of just throwing knives in this way. She also can't seem to grasp the concept of loading all of the like silverware together in the same slot. I like to put the spoons in a slot, the forks all together, the knives all together (points down of course), etc. It just makes sense to me. This makes it easier to unload. Again, am I crazy?

A friend recently told me to "get over it" and explained that if I complained about the kids loading the dishes this way, then they may stop voluntarily doing it. That makes perfect sense. Why would they continue to help me if all I do is complain about the way in which they help? I'm constantly telling the girls to work smarter, not harder. I'm trying to teach them ways to make chores easier and less time consuming.....some tricks of the trade if you will. The girls are very helpful and they do a lot around here. I am very thankful for their willingness to pitch in and help when I'm busy, sick, or just plain tired. I couldn't ask for two more helpful daughters. So, I'm working on my complaining. I'm learning to live with the floors that are not swept perfectly and the beds that are half made. I'm even learning to live with the chaos that is our silverware basket in the dishwasher. I've found the perfect solution for that one. Since I don't turn the dishwasher on until last thing each night, I just rearrange all the silverware before I go to bed! Now, if I can only get Caroline to stop throwing candy wrappers under her bed.........

Kids Ask the Funniest Things

My youngest daughter cracks me up! She loves all things girly. Lately she has become very interested in jewelry. Any time we are in a store, she loves to look at the racks of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. A few days ago, she picked up a gold anklet and slipped it onto her wrist. She yelled at me to look at it and wanted to know what I thought of the "cool bracelet" she found. Not long after this, our oldest daughter and I were in a department store looking at jewelry. I had to laugh when she asked me if I thought that toe rings could be used as regular rings. Where do kids come up with these things?

I'm not complaining though. There was a time when I wondered if they would ever like girly things. They are finally growing out of the "I wanna climb a tree stage" and into the "young lady" stage. I'm enjoying every step of this journey and cannot wait to see them in the role of wife and mother. I thank God for them every day.

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!