Local Field Trip Day

Hannah has spent the week in Tennessee with my mom, visiting my Aunt Janice. They've had a really good time. They were able to visit Brother Tony Hutson's church, Middle Tennessee Baptist, Wednesday night. My Aunt loved it and is looking forward to visiting again on Sunday with mom and Hannah. They've decided to stay a couple of extra days and won't be home until sometime Monday evening. I'll be glad to see my baby girl again.

Harrison and I decided to take a field trip today to our local museum. We didn't know what the exhibit was until we got there. It was the Girl Scouts from the year they started to present date. It was interesting to see how the badges and uniforms have changed over the years. They had a table set up where you could make a paper pocket knife so we did that. I told Harrison it gave a whole new meaning to a paper cut.

Next we stopped at the Library. For some reason, both Harrison and I were not in the system and we ended up having to get new library cards. Which was fine. Harrison finally checked out two books he's been dying to get for months. Everytime we go, the entire series is checked out. So he was glad there were two there and has enjoyed reading them today.

After the library we met Bruce at Love's Fish Box for lunch. Love's is the BEST fish camp in our area, in our opinion. We had a great lunch together and then home for a little rest before Bruce had to leave for work.

A friend came over for a visit this afternoon and it was so nice to sit and chat for a while. I enjoyed it very much!

Now we're just waiting on Justin to get back from practicing with one of the groups at church. I know he'll be exhausted when he gets here. He's been up a long time today and I'm sure he'll be ready to hit the sack when he gets home.

I'm outta here. Y'all have a good night/morning/evening.... whatever. :D

Gym and Homeschooling

Today we worked on the upper body. Can I just say ow? When I got up this morning my sides were feeling the abs workout from yesterday. I'm sure I'll be feeling today's workout in my triceps and biceps tomorrow.

The trainer gave us a chart to show us exactly what machines to work and what days we're to use them. It lists the machine and you fill in the pounds and reps you do. So next time we work those machines we'll be able to look back and know what we did last time. Also, we'll be able to watch our progress.

We eat lunch shortly after we get home, so today I had thrown some chicken tenders in the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce. We had that with stewed potatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and a dinner roll. For Bruce and me, I sliced a piece of tomato and laid it on top of the roll with a little garlic and parsley sprinkled on top. It was pretty tasty. It gave the bread a really good flavor.

The kids are getting back into the groove of school after being off for a long Christmas break. They should have their next tests by the end of this week and/or middle of next, providing they stay on schedule. I may need to push them a little harder since end of grade testing will be upon us before we know it.

We had a young man in our church over for supper last night. He likes my Taco Pie, so that's what I made for him. Then we watched a movie with him, played a little bit on the Wii, and laughed at his craziness. We had a good time and it was fun to have him here. We'll have to do that again soon.

I think a nap is on the agenda today. Yes. A nap. On the agenda. Sounds about right to me.
:)

Blessings Upon Blessings

Today was full of blessings. Brother Eddie Davis is preaching our revival and preached the BEST sermon, There is a River. I cried off and on through that whole sermon. Many people were touched through the preaching of the Word this morning. And if you're in the area, we'll be having service tonight at 6:00 and each night, through Wednesday, at 7:00. Come join us.
There is a family that has been coming to church. I have watched these people and can really see the Lord on their lives. They are a sweet story. The mom just got saved a few weeks ago. And the daughter came forward to get saved this morning, before the preaching got underway. If you knew their story, you'd be crying like I did when I saw that daddy walk behind his daughter to the alter with his Bible in hand. It was just precious!
Having a baptism after services tonight. I really can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do.
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My mother was in attendance this Sunday. She's been sick with bronchitis this past week. She was in Virginia with her sisters for several weeks before that, so it was nice having her back in the services today. And I'm glad to have celebrated her sixty-third birthday with her, this past Friday. Bruce and I took her to her choice of restaurants, then back to our house for cake and ice cream. After that, she took Hannah and Harry to her house, where Justin joined them after he got off work. And when I was done doing my Friday errands, I joined them all at her house for a hot dog supper and a movie. We had a great day with her and hope she enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed hers.
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Justin had an agility test at a fire department this past Friday. He did good and they called him back for an interview this coming Tuesday. So proud of him. It's a part time position, but it's definitely a foot in the door and I know if it's the Lord's will, then God will open that door a little wider at just the right time.
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Someone very dear to our hearts bought mom a new washer and dryer for her birthday. It was a tremendous blessing to her and she is so excited to know that it will be delivered this week. I'm happy for her. My dryer still dried clothes great, but it was old as the hills and made the LOUDEST noise while drying. So she gave us her dryer. It was like night and day when I dried clothes in it yesterday. LOL Earlier this year, the Lord gave us a practically brand new washing machine. So this year, the Lord gave us a "new to us" washer and dryer set. And that's a blessing to us.
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Harrison is doing GREAT with his new curriculum this year. He's up and hitting the books at 6:00am. He'll do three subjects, check his work, make corrections, and then go back to bed for an hour or so. He'll get back up, do his chores, finish his last two subjects, and he's done by or just shortly after 1:00. He's doing great. He's struggling in Math, but only because he needs to master some things. So we've stopped everything until he's done that. No point in going on until he has the knowledge to move on. That's another reason I love homeschooling. You can stop and concentrate on what's important. Bless his heart, he hates math. But I'll be honest, he gets it honestly. It was never, EVER my favorite subject!
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Hannah is doing great also. Sometimes I just watch her working away and can't believe that she has one more year of high school left. It can be a little depressing when I think about it, but I am so proud of her and the young lady she has become. She is so independent and I know that she is going to do good, in whatever the Lord leads her in doing.
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Bruce's job is still going strong. He's been working six days since January. Since he's been on second, it has been a great blessing for family time in the morning/afternoon hours. We are still praying the Lord will open that first shift position for him and we believe He will in the near future. I have enjoyed having him home at night. He worked third for so long, it's been different having him to curl up to at night. But I have gotten some great sleep and am actually on a normal sleep schedule, which I didn't have for the last few years. I have to say, I like it!!
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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ:

Ephesians 1:3

Homeschool

Gotta love homeschooling. Yesterday, while in the flow of school work, I asked Harrison why Cain killed Abel. His reply was that Cain was jealous of Abel because God would not accept his sacrifice of vegetables. Hannah chimed in with, "And NO one likes vegetables!"

School is going pretty good. Harrison still has the "don't want summer to be over so let's just don't do school" blues. The other day we didn't finish school work until ten minutes after 6:00. Needless to say I was a little put out. But amazingly kept my cool. I did ponder on it a while. It's not that he couldn't do the work. It's not that too many things were going on. He just allowed himself to daydream and chatter the day away. So I had to threaten him with the bike trip we're going on this weekend. I told him that I was not going to have my days upset everyday like that and that he better stay focused. That his school work should be finished, at the very latest, by 2:00. And that if it wasn't finished by 2:00 every day this week, he would not go on the bike trip this Saturday. So he's been up at 6:00 the last couple of days and has three subjects finished by the time we normally start school. And the biggest plus out of this little journey is that yesterday when he completed all of his school work by 11:30 he smiled at me and said, "You know, I like getting my work done this early. I have the rest of the day for 'Harrison stuff!'" So see... a little motivation is always a good thing!

Hannah, on the other hand, gets right to it. She rises when the alarm clock goes off, does her chores, eats her breakfast, and hits the books. Maybe Harry will learn by her example, also.

Speaking of the bike trip, we'll be going with our Sunday School class down the Virginia Creeper Trail. I LOVE that bike ride. It's twenty-two miles down the Creeper Trail and it is absolutely beautiful. There are several bike rentals in the area or you can bring your own. They load you up in a van and take you to the top of the trail and let you out. You take as long as you want coming down through the mountain side. There are shaded tree trails that run by creeks and rivers, through valleys, old homesteads... it is really one of my favorite things to do. I think we've gone every year for the last three or four years and have a blast every time. So we're all looking forward to it.

And that's enough for today. I have a mountain of laundry, some vacuuming (among other household chores), and school work to grade. Have a great day!

Busy, Busy, Again!!

We officially started school on Monday. It's been a good week so far. Trying to get back into the groove of things.
This Sunday is Sigma Rush Night. So we'll be pouring it on this weekend trying to get things ready for that. Our team is the Pi Gamma Centurions.
Had a photo shoot with Taylor this past weekend. While we were out on location at a living history farm, decided we should be his care takers. So while we were trying to take pictures, he was trying to tell us where his food was. But the door had a lock on it, so kitty didn't get anything from us. He was really cute and we had to laugh at how friendly he was being in hopes of us saving him from starvation.
I have another photo shoot this Saturday, providing the weather permits. I heard it will be rain all weekend, but I haven't checked to see myself. I guess I'll know when I step outside, if I don't check before then. O-o

So that's where I've been and what I've been doing. Where I'll be and what I'll be doing.

Y'all have a great day!

A Family Update

WOW! I can't believe this home school year is coming to an end. This is blowing my mind. It has been ONE year, I'm tellin' ya. I just realized it is already the month of May and I haven't even ordered my kid's end of grade testing. I need to do that this week. Fortunately, the company I use will have it to me next week, then we test a week, and then they'll have the scores to me by the end of the third week. I like how fast they work and get your results to you.

Harrison's reading lesson today came from an old book that belonged to my dad when he was a child. There was a little Sunday School story card on the inside that was dated January 13, 1952. Daddy would have been six years old then. The back was yellowed and there was a smudge mark on it. I don't know if he put that mark there or not, but it's a sweet thought to think of him doing that. LOL And there are pages where you fill in the blanks after reading the chapters. His handwriting didn't change much over the years. Just got a little smaller and a little neater. But it's definitely his handwriting.

Hannah will be a junior next year. AHHHHHHH! I can't believe my baby is getting that old. She'll be sixteen in a couple of weeks. We're in the process of planning her sweet sixteen party. She wanted things very simple. Just different shades of purple and silver. So the decorations will be easy. We just haven't decided on the food yet.

Here's a picture of her invitations I did on a program Bruce bought me several years ago. I thought it turned out nice. Obviously I blacked out our phone number and where it will be held. Wouldn't want strangers showing up. That would be awkward. lol

Justin is working for a company here in our home town, still hoping to get on at a fire department soon. It's a little discouraging for him, but he was able to help with a lady at work the other night when she was about to pass out. So he got to put a smidgen of his training to use. Then someone where he worked called the employer and told them about Justin. They sent him a message about how good it was to have him working for them. That meant a lot to him.

Bruce has been working six days a week. I've missed his mug around here. Praise the Lord he has a job!! So many in these parts do not. He was going to take a second shift position, but the Lord just wouldn't give him peace about it so he's staying on third. He's been sick lately but seems to be on the mend.

I've been sick too. I don't necessarily "feel" sick, but my allergies have overtaken my vocal chords and I can't get anything out!! It's ok, though, my God still hears me when I pray and that's what matters. I did find a store today that sales bee honey just up the road from here. I'm hoping I can get Bruce to take me up there later to see if it is localized honey. That would be great. If it is, I should be talking again by tomorrow. It's been difficult trying to teach school lessons, but at least I can type or write down what I want them to do or what I want them to know. So it's all good. Just a little frustrating.

We have a LOT going on this month and next month. It is going to be SUPER BUSY!! A good busy...but super busy, none the less. Thank you again, for understanding about the comments being turned off. I just don't have time to mess with my emails and comment moderation at this time. When things slow down a bit around here I'll turn them back on. :)

Of Steps and Pink Helmets

They told Justin I could come to the academy and take pictures when I wanted to, seeing they could use the pictures for a presentation at the end of the nine weeks. I would have liked to have gone today and I might still try if we can get all of our home schooling finished for the day. Harrison seems to be dragging and daydreaming a lot. I think this weather has affected him this afternoon. I should probably send him outside for a little bit and let him get some fresh air.

Anyway! I had my mom and mother in law over to eat supper with us last night. I fixed a pot of chili, mom brought cornbread, and I made pecan pie for dessert. Just about the time we were finishing up supper, in walked our cadet. Covered from head to toe in fireman gear, carrying oxygen tanks on his shoulder, ropes, belts, a duffel bag I could hide in full of equipment, books, etc. You name it, the boy had it. When he walked in the house I greeted him at the door and he said, "What is that I smell, mom?" "It's chili with all the fixin's." His eyes rolled back and he smiled, "I am so stinkin' hungry." He dropped most of his gear, put away the rest, and washed up to eat.

As we sat with him around the table talking and listening to his stories from the day, he mentioned that one of the things they might make you do is run steps several times. Now, that doesn't sound too terrible, does it? I mean, I'll be the first to admit that running up and down steps is not something I'd want to do or have a desire to do, but if I had to, I could do it.

However....

The steps he's talking about are in this building from the ground floor, up....

uh-huh. I know that's right. You'd have to have a rescue squad waiting at the top for me. Ha! Top. I give myself too much credit. I do admire these young men and women, though, that put all they have into this training. It's not easy physically or mentally. And I pray for them, that the Lord gives them strength as they push through it each day.

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You all know pink is my favorite color. If you click on this pic you can see that totally awesome pink helmet! If I were a firefighter, I'd be wearing the pink helmet. You can fight a fire and look prissy too!

Yeah, I'm diggin' it!

Of Eggs and Whoopin's

Harrison had a Science experiment yesterday involving an egg, a jug, and a match. We did not receive the results we had anticipated and so we plan on doing it again soon. But after the experiment I gave the egg to him and told him that he could have an egg toss with Hannah. She wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but she participated anyway, as to be expected from a big sister.


On the final throw it was from Hannah to Harrison. The egg busted in Harrison's hand and he threw it back at Hannah anyway. You can see by the look on her face that she was none too pleased with her younger sibling. LOL Harrison on the other hand got a good laugh out of it, as to be expected from a little brother.



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Mom came by last night toting Krispy Kream doughnuts. We sat around the table munching on our sweet snack and playing a few games of Uno. Mom won the first two games and Bruce told her if she won the third one he was whipping her with a belt. Needless to say, she won the third game. So he gave her the option of which belt he would use for the whoopin. lol


She protested at first, but what could she do against her much stronger son-in-law (the bitter loser), her grandchildren (the youngest losers) cheering on the whoopin' and her daughter (the eager loser) ready to snap pictures of the whoopin'.

Eventually she gave in to her sorry plight. It was so funny. She was a good sport.

DISCLAIMER: No grandmothers were injured during the photographic journaling of this incident.

SYATP

When my friend and fellow home schooler asked me a few weeks ago if I was aware that SYATP was coming up, I was clueless to what it was, exactly.
SYATP = See You At The Pole. I wasn't as clueless as I thought, though. I had heard about "See You At the Pole" but had not heard it called SYATP. Anyway, it is a time where you can meet and pray around the flag pole. Mainly praying for your school, surrounding schools, and your community. I believe this was actually started in a public school. But we take advantage of it as well.
We met at our church and James led a short devotional from Jude before we prayed.


Mrs. Kim and the girls were able to make it. They are getting ready to leave for New Zealand to be missionaries over there and because they are on the road a lot we don't get to see them as often. So I'm glad they were able to make it.


After prayer, we loaded the van and went to our local museum to see their WWII exhibit.


The displays were wonderful. The main focus was on WWII, but there were also pieces from WWI, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. I don't recall anything from the Korean War. Pretty much all of these items were donated by family members of our veterans.

The boots above tugged at my heart. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the holes in the bottom of them. They belonged to Palmer D. Fulton, American Expeditionary Forces. He was assigned to Company A, 144th Infantry, 40th Division Machine Gun Batallion, a very large machine gun unit. The guns were pulled through the fields and roads by mules. The unit was known as the "Mule Skinners."

I enjoyed the display very much and was glad that my children were able to look at these things items, read about them, and see the pictures. It brought into light things we don't think about when we think of war or our soldiers and the history of what our men and women in uniform have gone through for us. I'm looking forward to hearing Hannah's essay on the exhibit too.

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When we finished the exhibit, we left for the park to eat lunch and let the younger ones play for a bit. They had a good time, I think.

Harrison, Deborah, and Elizabeth enjoyed time on the tire swing. Going round, and round, and round...

and round and round and round....

until Harrison finally had to get off with an upset stomach.

It was a beautiful day for this field trip and we had a good time.

Successful First Day

We had a great first day of school. Hannah hopped right on her Algebra. After about thirty minutes she said that Algebra wanted to make her curl up in a ball and cry. She followed that with a sigh and "It's going to be a long year!" LOL I'm still hunting a good Geography curriculum, so if you know of one, please let me know.


Harrison jumped in with both feet too. He reviewed number sequence and some multiplication, learned about Lief Ericson, studied the importance of learning about God's creation, started his first Unit in Spelling, and worked on subject and predicate parts of speech.

It was a good day and they finished up around 1:30 this afternoon. We have a field trip scheduled for Wednesday and we're looking forward to that!! We'll be visiting a local museum to view their World War II exhibit.
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Here's a picture of a rabbit that we saw a few times at the beach. He was in and out of the vegetation. He had little rabbit holes everywhere. One minute you'd see him and the next he was gone. He was a cute little fellow.

Vacation!

I got a couple of emails and a note on facebook wondering where I was and why I hadn't been blogging. Remember I told you a few posts ago that we were making plans to go on vacation? Last week we did just that and it was wonderful!
This is the perfect time of year to go! We like to go after regular schools start back. That way the beaches aren't crowded, the hotels aren't crowded, and we pretty much have everything to ourselves. :D
When we left last week, it wasn't long until Harrison was becoming sleepy.


Hannah and Justin had already passed out.

And it was just me and my darlin' enjoying the quiet ride down and talking. He is so funny. He had me rollin' several times in laughter.

When we got to the hotel it was already dark. The pool and lazy river were still open (AND EMPTY!!!) so the kids headed straight down to play.

Hannah decided to just hang out for the evening.

My men in the hot tub. Don't they look relaxed?

:0)

Listening to the ocean.

The front of our hotel...

The back of our hotel...our room was the third floor down from the top, third from the left.

:D

We ate at chick-fil-A Monday before stocking up on groceries for the week. Hannah was thrilled to see that she was now too tall to play in the play place. haha

Bruce's sandwich was in the shape of a heart. It was meant to be because he loves chick-fil-A.

Harrison got Justin in the game they play and Justin had to do a push up.

But then Justin turned right around and got Harrison. So funny! And a little embarassing too, that my sons were doing push ups in the middle of the restaurant.

We played in the ocean. Well, they played in the ocean. I don't get in the ocean. There's too many creatures out there. But it sure is a beautiful part of God's creation!

I'm positive we were the only people that used the indoor pool all week.

We saw people parasailing....

played football on the beach....

played some more in the ocean...

went shopping....:D

Enjoyed spectacular sunrises...

went rock climbing...ok, not really. Justin just posed on top of a rock at the putt putt course we played at.

We always have the M***** Putt Putt championship and choose a place we haven't played yet down there. I think the Mayday Putt Putt was the only place we haven't played. So Mayday it was!

Hannah won the tournament. Bruce was in shock. He's never lost, of course. Hannah won $20. She was thrilled.

We played UNO by the pool...

read some books....

And all in all, it was a fantastic week filled with nothing but time with my family and some relaxation.

Like they say, all good things must come to an end. I am so thankful the Lord allowed our family the opportunity to spend this time together.

Bruce and Justin go back to work and we start school in the morning. I'm ready to get started in the 2010/2011 school year. It's going to be a great year!!