I quit blogging on hsb in June 2006... Well, I am back. I still use my blog at blogger but I figured I would write about school and stuff here again. Or at least try to. A lot has happened in the past year and a half. We moved from GA to Fremont, MI to Central FL. Joel has gone from being an apache mechanic to recruiter back to apache mechanic and is now in Korea. We were hoping to go to Korea - doesn't look like that is going to happen though. But the most important change of all - we had a baby last December. So now we have M - 10 years, X - 8 years and I - 10 months old. Life has surely changed!

Posted in My Ramblings

Military/Civil Service is coming your way. We are a country with a voluntary military or at least we where. In February Congressman Charles Rangall introduced the bill called the "Universal National Service Act of 2006 - HR 4752 H" yesterday the house was to convene and possibly adopt this bill.

This bill can be summed up as a Mandatory Draft. It will require all persons between the ages of 18 - 42 to register with selective service and perform a period of military or civilian service.

There are a lot of individuals who agree with this bill on both party lines. I am not one of them. While I understand that our country is falling short when it comes to how many soldiers are in the military, we are a voluntary military non-the-less. To require all persons to join ignores the fact that God has called everyone according to His purpose.

Furthermore our country is failing to support the men and women who are currently serving their country. They do not make a "decent wage" as some suggest, a majority of military families fall below the poverty line enough that they are on welfare. When the men and women return from Iraq poisoned by the depleted uranium our government turns their backs on them. This is the same thing which happened with Vietnam & the previous Gulf War. To many times the military is not given the equipment they need to perform their jobs. So how are we going to pay for more soldiers whether they are in the military or performing a civil job? I do not see congress taking a cut in pay to provide for the men and women who risk their lives because they believe in our Constitution and are serving their country out of Patriotism and the simple fact that it is a job that provides the necessary means to care for and support their families.

In case some of you do not realize your daughters are not safe. In today's society the feminist movement that began years ago has taken over. Women are expected and taught that they can do any job that a man does and more than likely do it better. This bill does not make an exception. Regardless of sex, women will now have to register with the Selective Service. They will be required to fulfill the same duties as our sons. While we may raise our daughters to be "keepers at home" as the Bible instructs the government will put them in the workforce for their own purposes. They will be expected to live up to the feminist standards and not only do their jobs which does not glorify the positions the Lord has given them but do it above and beyond the call of duty in the name of equal rights.

We as a nation must make a stand and not allow the government to force our children and even ourselves into a position in which the Lord has not called us. Mothers will be torn away from their families, our children will be thrown into a Godless society where the government will be able to "raise them" according to their pagan standards and Fathers will be left with an even lower sense of worth because their wives are no longer their helpmeet but instead working not for the betterment of their families but for a government which does not appreciate nor support the role the Lord has given women.

Posted in Homeschooling

Thursday we hit the park for our weekly park day activity. I love getting together with this group of ladies and their kids. I will definitely miss it when we move. We had a new lady visit that Thursday with her 2 children. So that made it all the better. It is amazing though how well we all get along (including the kids). The kids are really starting to bond with each other and play together more compared to at first when they tended to play beside each other instead of with each other.

To top it off we have had a few more people join our online group and are showing interest in our get togethers. We have scheduled our first "co-op" day for the 20th of June. It really is not much of a "co-op" but an art project at the local pottery place. The only down fall is with summer here field trips are not really happening but that is okay. We will only be here for a few more weeks to enjoy it then hopefully we will be able to find a new group of homeschoolers.

I finally cleaned out the rest of the boys folders and set them up for the coming year. So my dining room table is now piled high with books and extra papers that I have to sort and go through. We have so much stuff for school and we don't use a lot of it. I am seriously considering selling some of it but I know if I do then I will end up wanting one of the things I sell back. However, I have almost made up my mind to take the plunge because a lot of it we have not used or opened in over a year. So it is just taking up room on my bookshelf. The downfall is I have no idea where to sell it at since ebay is taking TM off people's lists. What a crock.... I really need to sit down and make a list of the stuff.

I am now deciding on where to place Xavier in grammar. He is smart enough to go into the same book as Micah but his writing... well that's a whole nother story. Plus I have no idea where to put him in math. Technically a 2nd grader now and can do some multiplication but lacks having his addition facts memorized. Ughh. I will figure it out.

We were going to start our new schedule Monday and we still might. But Tuesday they are going off for the day/night. So that will throw a crimp in the lessons being done a little. Why does that always happen? Just when you get things ready to really move in the right direction little curves happen along the way, lol.

Oh well. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Posted in Homeschooling

just a little bit due to the fact that my kids have been monsters and we needed to seriously discuss the burping thing.  For some reason  they think it is cool to burp the alphabet. Okay, I will admit I did not exactly nip that in the bud  like I should have when it first started. So now I am dealing with it bigtime <-That is probably what I looked like at one point as they smiled at me, laughed and said but it is fun.

So the fine points of today's manner/etiquette lesson were the appropriate way to burp and the definition of the word rude. Hopefully they got the point, lol.

We did finish math today - YAY! So now they totally get the concept of multiplication and multiplying by 0 & 1. Now we will practice that for a few days along with their speed drills and then move on to 2 & 5.

Posted in Homeschooling

We officially decided on a name for a homeschool... Olive Branch Academy won out over the other names we thought of. We decided to use Romans 11 as a corresponding passage and I have come up with the basic design for our logo. The boys are excited and it has really given them a sense of ownership. Micah and Xavier can't wait to make a flag and now they are talking about shirts and other things which I never even thought of, lol.

The boys have finished 1/2 of their school work this morning and now are fixing lunch. We will do math and finish writing afterwards. I finally put all of the past years work in their designated envelope's and labeled them. So their notebooks are fresh, clean and empty for a new year (which starts next week).

On another note... we are still waiting to see where we are moving to. We were told that we were going to Ludington, MI and then 4 hours later that changed - ARRR! It is so frustrating. I will be glad when July 26th gets here and the move and knowing where we will be living is finally over.

Posted in Homeschooling

We went to Ft. Pulaski today to take part in the NPS Jr. Ranger Program. We met another family there so we could do it together. WOW! The boys were a little overwhelmed with the writing they had to do but then they do not like to write at all. But they did most of it themselves and the few times I wrote for them they dictated what I wrote. It took about 2 hours for us to do the self-guided tour and then we had a little picnic lunch afterwards. It was a lot of fun and the boys are looking forward to collecting Jr. Ranger pins from other places. 

Posted in Homeschooling

This is not exactly right, but I do love Salvador Dali!

Posted in Homeschooling

Recently a "fun question" on one of my groups was did/what did you name your homeschool? Well we never officially named our little school. After listening to some of the great names from the gals on the group my hubby and I decided to do some brainstorming. Okay I will be honest, I was coming up blank and he came up with a bunch. Which is okay because he can name it or at least come up with them and I can design the logo. Yes, I thought it would be neat to have a little logo and get t-shirts or a bumpersticker or something made. Maybe even a flag we can hang up. So here are some of the choices...

The Harvester's
Ascension Academy
Olive Branch Academy (already thought of a logo for this one)
The Sherperd's Flock or
The Shepherd's Path
Trumpet's Call
My Little One's (Xavier's idea)
The Believer's Beginning

I know they are not the most interesting. But so far this is what we have. I like a couple of them but am trying to figure out the logo's and corresponding Bible verse to use as a motto. So far Olive Branch Academy is winning :-)

Posted in Homeschooling

This week school has been pretty much non-existent. I have been in the dumps and the boys have been in a mood. We did a little early this week but then it all went downhill. I spent half the week laying around the house. While they worked on building a fort in the living room and the best way to irritate your brother. I guess I can not count that as school work huh?

We did manage to go to Park Day on Thursday. Which the boys really enjoyed being able to get out of the house and play with some friends. We were only at the park for a couple of hours and were able to enjoy a sun shower while we were there. It felt good. It has been so hot lately (doesn't help the I am prego).

After our park adventure we made a Lemon Meringue Pie (we added to much lemon though) WHOO - it'll knock your socks off. I think next time I am going to find the recipe I used last time I made one. Then Joel got in from SC. He is home for Memorial Day Weekend. Which is real nice since we won't see him again until he graduates school on the 16th of June.

So next week I have school all planned out and am actually looking forward to hitting some books and doing some cool things with the boys. They do not know what all I have planned yet. They just think we have worksheets, books to do. Not so, my sons. With summer here we will be doing a little bit of bookwork to finish our grammar and also to work on reading/math. But most of the things planned are outdoors, experiments and things of that nature.

Anyways, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

ChathamMommy has a contest: Adventuresome Spirit. So I thought I would share one of our not so adventuresome adventures to share ;-) Now to figure out if we have even had an adventure, lol.

I am a bit of a planner, although I do have an adventuresome spirit it is not very often that I plan the good ones. Instead of telling one of our most recent adventures I am going to step back in time to when we were moving to FL from TX. My dh was going to be leaving for a tour in Korea but before he left for overseas he had to go to school for a couple of weeks. We decided that I would go ahead and move back home while he was in school and then he would move our stuff when he had leave before he had to go to Korea. So one morning we kissed Daddy goodbye and loaded the boys into the car and our dog Samson. We sat out for FL but needed to stop by the store on the way out of town. So I pulled into the WalMart parking lot grabbed the boys and ran into the store. We weren't in the store but a few minutes (surprising I know) and headed back to the car. No biggie, I put the bags in the trunk and opened the door. As I buckled the boys into their seats Samson decided to make a break for it. Now Samson was one of the best dogs we ever had (he had to be put down a year ago due to old age/health - a very heartbreaking moment) but the one problem with Samson was he was a runner. You could never catch that silly dog. So here I am in the middle of the WalMart parking lot trying to catch a dog who thinks it is great fun to run as far away from the car as possible. It took 1 1/2 hours to finally convince him to get back into the car. All the while the boys are laughing at their mother who keeps driving to different parts of the parking lot while trying to catch the dog. To be honest it was not very funny at the time but now I have to laugh. We spent many a times chasing that dog but that time ws probably one of the most frustrating of all. Thank goodness we made it to FL safely.

Posted in My Ramblings

I have decided that I am a walking contradiction, lol. It is funny how life works and how things you thought you want you don't and things you didn't want you do. 3 years ago a girlfriend and I started a secular (well an inclusive homeschool group). We tried to get it going but nothing came of it... until this past spring when it has taken off and has boomed. Problem is that as much as I wanted this and it is kinda mine in the sense that I was one of the founders I am stuck in it. In a lot of ways I really like it and how it is growing, in other ways I am struggling with it. Over the past 3 years the Lord has changed a lot of things in my life and now I am left trying to sort it all out. It is sad to think that what I wanted from this group has finally come into place but I just am not so sure I want it anymore. So I am greatful in a lot of ways that we will be moving. It is an easy way out but in the end I know that even if I wasn't moving I wouldn't be able to stay in the group for long. Yet, I still care how it goes.

Then there is a whole 'nother thing. For a few months I was really studying what the Lord has to say about clothing and modesty. Then I kinda just left it, for awhile I was trying to wear skirts but it is so easy to wear shorts and pants. But lately... it has been bothering me. Especially now that I am pregnant and am hoping for a girl. I don't know why but it has been 7 years since I had a baby and I have learned a lot of things since then and there are a lot of things I would like to do different.

Anyways, in the end I guess it comes to down one thing. I have not been spending a lot of time with the Lord lately. Which I need to do. So that I may see where it is I am going and where it is he is leading me.

Posted in My Ramblings

I am doing a happy dance. I know I am weird but I am really looking forward to moving. New place, new people, new life - hehehe. The only problem we are going to be where it is freezing! Michigan of all places, who'd a thunk?

The boys are real excited at the fact that they will see snow. I am looking forward to it also but am more realistic and know that after I see the pretty snow for the first time I will want summer The boys just don't know. I on the other hand am planning on living under a blanket come fall/winter.

Hopefully we will find out today where exactly in MI we will be. Now I just need to get on the move and start cleaning out my house.

Posted in My Ramblings

I took a little bit of a hiatus because we had a lot going on but thought I would come and blog a little before we go on another hiatus within a couple of weeks.

We have been busy with my brother's wedding. The boys were the ring bearers and needless to say they were adoreable! The wedding was beautiful and the reception a total blast. Xavier danced the night away while Micah took photo's of everything.

I want to thank you guys who prayed for me. It is much appreciated. I am pregnant - YAY! I had a little bit of a scare (why I asked for prayer) but went to the doctor Friday and everything looks good and the baby is fine. So thank you again!!

On another note... without a set schedule the past couple of weeks things in the house have gone haywire, especially my boys. They really need a schedule and for some reason between all the going on's and with Dad going away to school for a few weeks they are getting mean. So time to kick things back into gear.

I will blog more later...
God Bless

We have had an exciting couple of weeks. I will blog soon about all of the going on's in our family. I have been having some problems recently and really could use some prayers. I don't want to go into right now - maybe soon I will share.
Thanks

Posted in Homeschooling

We went to the Jepson Center for the Arts today with our homeschool group. Overall it was an okay field trip but our tour guide was not very kid friendly and tried to rush the tour. The boys and I would like to go back when we can actually look at some of the paintings and sculptures. The kids got to do a small art project which resembles one of the pieces of art they saw. Micah and Xavier had fun - which is what really matters.

Posted in Homeschooling

I did not make a real "lesson plan" for our bird study which is a little odd for me but here is an overview of what we have done and will be doing over the next few weeks and the resources we are using.

Week 1:
Hang bird feeder & suet feeder
Clean out bird bath & make a "mini" lake in our yard
Paint bird houses the boys got for Easter
Make pine cone bird feeders
Learn to identify birds using field marks
Identify birds in our backyard using a pocket field guide (got to buy a book still)
Watch birds daily - mark off those we identify on a chart
Visit Birds of Prey in Maitland
An overview on birds - from a science encyclopedia we have, different birds wing spans, how many species of birds and how they break down into different groups

Week 2:
Use Considering God's Creation lesson on Birds and pull bird lessons from other sections in the book.
    *Birds - in general (1st week)
    *Flight - parts of the feather, bones are hollow
    *Beaks & Feet - different birds are shaped for where they live, how they eat, etc.
Make bird folder to hold papers, drawings, coloring pages, etc.
Build a bird (looking for link still, you download different parts of the bird and then  
   make the bird to fit a certain habitat)
Talk about wingspan - use yarn to measure out the wing span of
    certain birds
Start reading "Hoot"
Continue watching birds in our backyard
Take pictures of birds in our backyard
Make & paint bird houses out of dried gourds
Color pictures of birds we identify (Dover Publication Bird Coloring Book or
     download a free bird coloring book here )
Watch eagle cam & other web cam of birds
Sunrise bird walk @ the beach (identify water birds)

Week 3:
Continue: reading "Hoot", watching/identifying/coloring/taking    
     photos of birds
Color owl pages & do crossword (downloaded from kidwings.com)
Virtual owl pellet dissection @ kidwings
Watch movie - "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"
More in depth on habitats/what birds eat
Listen to bird songs online & identify birds by their song in our yard
Pick a bird to study & make poster

Week 4:
Continue watching/identifying/coloring/taking photos
Use lessons for things we have not covered from The Bird Site
Watch movie - "March of the Penguins" ?
Birds in art: look at and discuss pictures, paintings with birds (are they realistic, make believe, colors, good, bad, etc.) google search
Using paper mache make our own sculpture of a bird
Go see "Hoot"
Dissect real owl pellets

Other Resources we are using not listed above (we don't use all of it but take a little from here and there):
Lesson plan from Illinois
Cornell.edu
What Makes a Bird a Bird?
Bird Feeding
GA/FL Bird Photos

Posted in Homeschooling

Our Bird Study

We started studying birds a couple of weeks ago. The boys have painted their bird houses and they are currently being waterproofed. The bird feeder, bath and min lake have been a great hit according to our new feather friends. So far we have been visited by or seen from our backyard:
6 mating pairs of Robins
2 Blue Jays
1 Cardinal
a bunch of Common Grackles
a bunch of European Starlings
2 Carolina Chickadee's
2 mating pairs of House Finch's
a couple of crows
2 Red Headed Woodpeckers
1 Red Bellied Woodpecker
a bunch of Mourning Doves

Micah has become our wildlife photographer. You can check out some of his photo's here.

Posted in Homeschooling

What do you get when you have 7 adults & 8 kids plus a baby go to Sea World together? A fun and insane trip! Joel & I were taking the boys to Sea World as their b-day present instead of a party. Well his 2 sisters & brother came along. We had a great time although trying to keep 8 kids from running in every direction because they are so psyched by being there and being able to hang out with each other can be frustrating at times. We started the day off by meeting at IHOP for breakfast (God Bless our poor waitress). After a hearty meal we hit the road...
Our first stop in Sea World the sting rays. Xavier was a little scared of feeding them but after Dad helped him it was cool. We saw turtles (the boys had to talk the "worker" there ears off) and informed her of sea turtles having tumors. Then all the kids climbed on a manatee statue which has a sign to stay off of statue beside it. We realize this after the photo shot, lol. Moving right along... we enjoyed the rides, animals and hanging out with family. Overall it was a wonderful day and the boys bought their own souveniers (Shamu & baby stuff animals of course). The Orca is Micah's favorite whale and Xavier had to have one to after seeing the show (plus he likes the Orca also).

Kids Galore


Isn't he a cutie?


Chillin' with the penguins


Dad & X-man


Micah


More food now!


Group Photo


My 2 boys - shopping's done...

Posted in Homeschooling

Friday we went to Audubon's Center for Birds of Prey. It is a small sanctuary in Maitland. We had a great time and the boys learned lots of interesting things about the raptor birds. The volunteer's there are wonderful and we plan on adopting one of the birds now. We got to see a lot of different birds: owls, eagles, vultures, kestrels and  more. The highlight was meeting their friendly snake. Who has lived at the center for about 2 years and so far has managed to stay out of the bird cages. He was chomping down on a frog while we were there. With his mouth full I didn't mind getting a little closer than I normally would to take some pictures.











The boys sitting in part of the abandoned eagle's nest that _____ (can't remember her name Mary?) sat in back in the 70's.

Posted in Homeschooling

Our first trip to the beach this year and we went to Daytona. Ughh, Daytona is not one of my favorite beaches but it is "home". Personally I thought the water was to cold to swim but that didn't stop the "guys". Joel and I got a little burned but the boys didn't. They boogie board while I read a book. We only stayed for a couple of hours since we had to go visit Joel's grandparents in the afternoon but it was a blast.