I am a wife, mom, lover of the Lord, and sinner saved by grace. I hope something I say in this blog will encourage you in your walk with the Lord and your everyday life as a homeschooling mom. Caution: I am opinionated and passionate when it comes to homeschooling. So read at your own risk! "Thank you Lord for being who you are, regardless of who I am."
Here is the recipe for the Hershey Cake that I listed in our Thanksgiving menu. Enjoy!
Hershey Pound Cake
21/2 cup sifted flour
2 sticks oleo
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
7 (plain) Hershey bars
2 sm. cans Hershey syrup
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda in one cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
Dissolve hershey bars in hershey syrup on low heat while mixing other ingr.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add vanilla.
Add flour slowly.
Add eggs one at a time, alternating with milk, beating well after each addition.
Add hershey mixture.
Mix well.
Well, I pulled off my first Thanksgiving at my house!
It wasn't hard, but we had WAY too much food leftover.
We had 9 people and enough food for about double that! Of course we ate another round last night, but still have about 2-3 more meals worth.
Our menu included:
Hickory Smoked Turkey
Paula Dean's Glazed Ham*
Mashed Potatoes
Pinto Beans
Green Bean Bake*
Stuffing
Dinner Rolls
Hershey Cake
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Pecan pie*
Cherry Pie
*these were the best items of the day!*
But - now that we've had all that "regular" food - I'm ready for some spicy food. Mexican is sounding very good right now!
I am unusual in the way (one of the ways) that I don't want Turkey and Dressing EVER, except on Thanksgiving. My husband could eat that once a week, all year round. But after I've eaten it on TG, I don't want to see it again until the next November.
We are not shopping for Christmas today, EXCEPT for our Christmas tree. We threw our tree away last year - it had seen better days. So we get to buy a new one this year and I'm planning on looking for one with built-in lights. This is appalling to my 10 year old, who says, that is a tradition - to wind the lights all around the tree. Funny how he missed the frustration on my husband's face year after year, as David untangled the strands of lights.
My family tends to stick to traditional routines, while I get excited over the idea of "different". It's a battle I'm determined to win this year!
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, filled with family and friends. There is much to be thankful for. If you are reading this, then God is still at work in your life!
Well, the men got home Saturday night about 11:30pm with the horses. They had driven about 12 hours that day and were worn out!
Once they got home, the fun began. The horses were only coming to our house for the night, then we were moving them on Sunday to our friend's who will be boarding them for us until we build our fence.
So.......at midnight, in the pitch black of night, we are unloading the horses and getting them tied up for the night. The plan was good, but we didn't count on a halter breaking, a horse on the loose, ropes around ankles, etc.
Finally, after much excitement, both horses were safely tied to trees (with enough rope to bend their heads to eat), and we were able to get into bed about 2 a.m. We were tired!
Sunday we took them out to a friend's house, where they had plenty of room to run and an abundant amount of grass to eat. They seemed very happy.
We are checking fencing prices and getting those plans in the works ASAP. Collin said he didn't like the fact that his Christmas present was at someone else's house!
It may seem like we did this thing backwards - getting horses before we built the fence - but the lady who had them only had a few days to keep them before she would have to find a new place to rent, so we had to bring them here to save them from being homeless.
Other than the exciting horse news, Ted (my 16 year old) started his new job on Monday. He was a little apprehensive, but once he got there, he was fine.
He is working for FOX, here in town, and they have two news shows; one at 4pm and the other at 9pm. Ted actually ran the studio camera for the 9:00 show. He is going to learn so much while working there. The great thing is that he has landed a position that usually college students have to intern to get. This position is not usually given to a 16 year old, as a permanent job. We're very proud of him.
This week Collin and I are volunteering at the church, taking up Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes.
I bought my first turkey today. Sorry to disappoint all of you wonderful homemakers, but I bought a pre-cooked Hickory Smoked Turkey. All I have to do is heat it up!! I'm so happy!
More on the menu later.
Hope all is well with you!
Blessings my friends,
Debbie
Well, I made it! I actually slept at the house by myself last night while David and the boys were in Alabama. Sounds silly - I know - but we've had strange things happen here and it gets a little spooky when you're surrounded by woods.
I had a good day yesterday. I accomplished many of the things on my list and even had lunch with a great friend, who I haven't seen in a long time.
It was great to catch up with her.
I got my menu made for next week, bought groceries, rented some movies, worked on some school things, ate corn chowder for supper (yum), and was in bed by 10:30.
This morning David texted me at 6:30 to say he and the boys were getting on the road. They had an hour and a half drive to get to the horses. He just texted me at 8:15 to say they were there.
It will be a long day back for them, but they will be so excited to be pulling a trailer with our new pets.
What's on the agenda for me today?
Finish up school record keeping, lesson plans for next week
Wash clothes
Clean the house
Watch a movie (while eating pizza - of course)
Print some pictures on my trusty little picture printing machine
Hopefully scrapbook
Wait on my boys to get home
There are seasons of life that are expected and those that sneak up on you. I am experiencing one of those seasons that has caught me by surprise, all of a sudden.
My 16 year old son got his first permanent job this week. He's had short term jobs but never a fully committed, go to work every day, kind of job. Starting Monday that will all change.
He will work in the evening, which will still give him time to do school and be at home during the day. But our evenings will be different.
He has been offered a job in production at our local FOX affiliate, which will entail things like: running the teleprompter, handing out scripts, and various other duties that have to be done before, during and after the evening news.
This opportunity is unique in that, he is only 16 and usually the guys they hire for this position are much older. But, because he had experience with shooting football and has known the guys in the news business since he was little, they are taking a chance on him and his age. We didn't want him to pass this up.
So, my "little boy" is growing up and entering the grown up world. And this mom is not doing well with it!
On a happier note: we are getting into the horse world. My husband and 2 boys are on their way, as I type this, to Alabama to pick up two quarter horses that have been given to us. This will be our first time as horse owners (well David had them as a teen) but, for our family, it will be a first. We have promised our kids horses since we moved to this little farmhouse, and now we are delivering.
We've got fences to build and alot to learn, but what a journey!
I feel like it's a real blessing to be able to give my kids this opportunity.
And, true to the homeschooling mom way, I bought a book on horses, and Collin will be reading it all the way to Alabama! He'll be educated beyond belief by the time they get there! And if I know Collin - Ted and Dad will be begging him to stop relaying all the facts from the back seat, very soon!
And I'm at home for 2 days with no one but the dogs. True to myself, I've made a list of all the things I want to do during these two long days. I don't want to squander the precious time away, doing nothing. So, I hope to get some projects done (scrapbooking) and some movie watching, some school record-keeping (I actually enjoy this), and organizing (love this too). I'm about to make my menu for next week and go to the store.
I'm considering this weekend to be like a little retreat for myself. I hope to spend alot of time renewing myself and communicating with God. Sounds precious, don't you think?
In order to feel like I've been productive this week, I'm going to make a list of all I've done. I've been tempted to do nothing but enjoy a good book on the front porch and have taken those opportunities several times this week, however, there still seem to be so many things calling for my attention.
So, beginning on Monday and going through today, this is what I can remember accomplishing so far, this week:
5-6 loads of laundry
Cleaned and reorganized the school bookshelf
Cleaned off and reorganized my desk
Online banking several times
Grocery shopping
Cleaned bathroom
Cleaned out and reorganized bathroom storage shelves
Pulled out all Thanksgiving curriculum items
Cleaned off and reorganized Collin's school desk
Started reading "Little House in the Big Woods" aloud
Wrote a letter
Changed and reduced my DISH network, AT & T, and Verizon bills
Posted a picture on Facebook
Voted in Amendment election
Cooked many meals
Made cookies
Offered a written schedule to Gena at TOS
Prayed for friends in need
Helped the kids with schoolwork
Good Morning!
Once again it's a rainy, humid day here in Texas. Another 2-4 inches expected today, then another cold front.
I think it's a weather rule that, in order for Texas weather to be pleasantly cool, we have to get drenched first!
Oh well.
Just wanted to write an update on what our family has been up to lately. We spent all last week in Ft. Worth. David had a Texas Municipal League meeting there, so we traveled with him. We had a great time! The hotel we stayed in was actually the last hotel that JFK stayed in before his trip to Dallas the next day. We took the kids to the JFK museum at the Book Depository in downtown Dallas. We have visited it before, but they have added some displays since then, and it is a very nice and informative museum.
The next day we traveled over to the Fort Worth Stockyards. This is a historical site and still a huge attraction. In fact, they were getting ready for a big rodeo and so we were there for the wagon train coming through to kick off the big event. They have a cattle drive daily, but we got to see covered wagons and much more than just the typical drive. They also have a human maze that the boys were able to go through. That was alot of fun watching from the observance tower.
The downtown area of Ft. Worth was wonderful too. It is a beautiful area, with great architecture. All the trees were covered in white lights, so at night it looked like a postcard scene. We walked along the streets, looking in shop windows and stopped in at Barnes and Nobles. It was a great week!
This week we've been trying to get back into our routine. It took me a few days of getting there. First I had to tackle the mound of laundry that we acquired from being gone for a week. Then, just get myself motivated to motivate the kids. By Wednesday we were going strong.
Collin has officially entered his first photography contest. A small museum in the area is sponsoring a contest and we just happened to have a great photo that he took on one of our field trips. We enlarged it to an 8 x 10, took it to Hobby Lobby and picked out a mat and frame, and dropped it off at the museum yesterday. They said they had around 30 entries. The pictures will be judged on Saturday and Sunday they will host a reception where we can walk through and view each entry. The pictures will actually be displayed for an entire month for the public to see. The kids had a choice of putting a price on their entry, to sell it, but Collin chose not to. He's too sentimental about his stuff!
On the reading front:
I read a book this week titled Terror by Night by Terry Caffey. This is a true story, which many of you may remember, about a family that was murdered in East Texas. I won't go into detail, but the family had been homeschoolers for a few years, and they were murdered by their daughter's boyfriend and and another friend, and the daughter was also convicted.
This was such a sad story, except for the fact that the dad - Terry Caffey - lived through the murder and fire and has gone on to minister to people through his testimony. It's a story of forgiveness that is bigger than human capacity, and only possible through the power of God. I highly recommend this book.
Bible Study wise: I'm still in When Wallflowers Dance. It is a great study!
Upcoming:
I will be attempting to hold Thanksgiving at my house this year! I've never cooked a turkey, and I honestly don't know if I'll actually do it this year. If I "chicken" out, I will just buy one and make everything else.
David and I have just decided that we travel too much and we want to be in our own home for the holidays. This goes for Christmas too.
Tomorrow we'll be shopping for Samaratin's Purse - the shoe box ministry - with a group of kids. We are taking them to the Dollar store to purchase the items they want to put in their boxes. After that, we'll go back to a friend's house and have a little "fall" party.
Tomorrow night - Collin will be at a birthday party, Ted will be shooting football, and David and I will actually go to a movie premier - on a date!
We are going to the premier of Noble Things, a movie made by a man who grew up in our town and went on to be an actor. In the movie he is a singer and it tells of his life. Tracy Byrd and many others will be singing in the movie, so it will be interesting. The town we live in is where Tracy Byrd grew up ( he and David went to school together), so it will be a little like watching his life play out on screen.
So - now - I'm off to start the day - and put on my teaching hat.
You know, the more I listen to Glenn Beck, the more hopeful I become. Even though our nation has gone crazy lately (last 10 months), I believe we are on the verge of a great awakening.
As so many "tea party" attendees have said "they've awakened a sleeping giant". Yay! That's just what we need! Just as the country woke up on 9/11, I believe we are coming alive in 2009!
That's what's good about adversity - you become alive and ready to fight. Your survival instincts kick in.
We need to be awakened and up for the fight. There are so many issues threatening to tear down the moral fabric of our country and threatening our future, that we cannot sit back and be complacent any longer.
This is no longer a time when you can NOT vote or NOT stand up, and yet, still reap the benefits of a "Christian" nation. This nation is falling and if we don't stand up NOW - there won't be anything left to stand up for.
If you are a Christian parent with kids in the government school - this should infuriate you and the responsibility lies upon your shoulders to speak up.
Take a stand and take the schools back. It's your children's future.
Well, today's my birthday. Yesterday I was 43 and today I'm 44 and the weird thing is - I feel older! As ridiculous as that sounds, it feels different.
For some reason, in my crazy symmetrical mind, 43 is still attached to 40-42 which are the "low 40's". But 44 has crossed a line and is attached to 45-47 or so, and that makes me in the "mid 40's". AHHHHHH!
Turning 40 was no big deal to me, but now, I'm getting bothered.
Oh well, as they say - "it's better than the alternative".
My sweet husband and boys are taking me to Ruth's Chris steakhouse tonight in Dallas. We're heading to Ft. Worth today for a City Council conference, so we'll have dinner to celebrate my birthday there. The "julienned potatoes" are to .......well, you get the idea!
As you get older you realize that gifts are just things and it's the people that love you that really matter. I wish we could learn those things earlier in life and be more appreciative of spending time with family and friends. Now days it seems that everyone is so busy, people and even families don't get together like they used to.
Complacent Christians and radical Liberals = persecution
After several complaints and inquiries on my wherabouts - I am sitting down with a cup of coffee to write about where I've been.
I will start by saying that I'm glad to know that I have been missed. Sometimes you wonder if anyone is reading and if what you have to say is having any impact on others. I will elaborate more on this in a moment.
I want to first say that October has been a weird month so far. At the beginning of the month, we all felt the effect of allergies upon us, then we've had such strange weather changes, that we've been in and out of fall/winter/summer mode. Suffice it to say - the weather does, most definitely, have an effect upon your mind and mood.
Anyway, I can't blame my absence on the weather, but I will blame it on the enemy called Satan and his sidekick - Facebook! I wrote a few weeks ago about getting sucked in to the FB scene and after a few days, becoming sick of it. Well, that hasn't changed, but a few discussions have kept me lingering there much longer than I should have and therefore, I believe, turned my mind into mush.
I told my mom, (who was one of the ones who complained about me not blogging) that it's like I can only think in snippets now. After writing in one or two sentence-like conversations, you turn into an idiot! It's all you can do to think in terms of a whole paragraph.
I wanted to elaborate this point here because a friend of mine brought up the fact that she thinks the youth are training their minds in this same way. Between Twitter, Facebook, and texting, they are conditioning their minds to think in these one sentence conversations. They don't even have real conversations anymore! Adults either - for that matter! I've talked to more church friends on Facebook than I do on Sunday mornings!
This leads me to another point that may or may not fit in here, but it fits into why I've stuck with FB up until this point: Christians talk about nothing and liberals react to everything!
I have so many "friends" on FB that seem so uninformed about the current condition of the gov't and the gov't schools. The sad thing is - their kids are in government school.
They will post all day long about trivial stuff - how many people are sick in the family, school reunions, baby poo, what's for dinner, how their car broke down, etc. BUT try and throw out there a conversation starter about what's going on in the political world, and you get the "deer caught in headlights" look.
However - and here's the clincher - the liberals will respond with fervor! Of course their responses are filled with name-calling, judging, personal attacking, etc. But hey! At least their alive!
This past week my husband and I have been called many names and even accused of being filled with hate. My Christianity has been questioned, my Baptist religion has been condemned, and we have just basically been cut to the core, all by the liberals, and all because we disagree with Obama. Some of you who have read my posts on HSB know that you can experience that here too, when a liberal comes across your blog.
The point I want to make about this, is that I find it very sad and telling, that Christians don't speak out. They bury their heads in the sand and pretend that their little world is just fine. Oh, they have a few complaints here and there, but they are not willing to stand up and fight. I know this doesn't apply to all Christians, of course, but from what I can see, it applies to many.
Believe me, it's not fun getting called names and having your beliefs criticized, but I keep thinking about the disciples of Christ. They were persecuted on all sides, and yet, they kept on going. I think of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck. They are like heroes to me because they are willing to withstand personal attacks in order to tell the truth.
I have prayed about speaking out. I have asked God if there is anything wrong with standing up for the truth and speaking out against the lies. I feel He has given me the "ok" to continue to do so, as long as I love along the way. Sometimes hard to do, yet, it's required.
I'm so glad my friend JoyceMarie has decided to create TheMomBrigade here on HSB! It's a place where we moms can go to voice our frustrations and political opinions. Needless to say - I've already been there.
Well, I've been gone and now I've given you wayyyy too much.
I laid in bed the other night, after much persecution, and debated just turning off the FB page (again). What keeps me hanging on? I'm not sure, except there is this little voice inside me that says that maybe I can make a difference in someone's life along the way.
The easy road would be to turn it off. Obviously - I'm a homeschooler - I don't take the easy way very often.
We'll see. One thing I am committed to doing is keeping up with this blog better than I have the past two weeks. This is my place of comfort, my home.
I love you guys (and Mom) and look forward to filling your ears again very soon.
You know I always write on Monday mornings. On Mondays I'm always ready for the challenges of the week and ready to accomplish something. By Wednesday I've usually lost my steam and by Friday, I'm ready to play. So, since it's Monday and I'm looking at a new week ahead of me, I'll share with you what my challenge is for myself this week.
I just started a new Bible study called When Wallflowers Dance by Angela Thomas. The subtitle being "Becoming a Woman of Righteous Confidence".
This study challenges the reader to go from being an observer to a participant in growing in your walk with the Lord; not standing against the wall and blending in, but going forth with confidence, into a stronger relationship with Christ.
I don't know about you, but my relationship with the Lord can go on autopilot sometimes. I pray, but not passionately. I study, but don't remember it. I try to memorize, but fail. I seek Him, but not as often as I should. I love Him, but not with the strength He deserves. I fall completely short of my potential, just for lack of trying.
I have reasons and excuses for all of these things: I'm tired, distracted, busy, sick, pulled in too many directions. The list could go on and on. But, let's be honest; we make time for what's important to us (computer, tv, food, friends, kids, books, etc.)
Yet, in my heart, I long for Him. I "thirst" for Him, as the Bible says. My desire is to walk so closely with the Lord, that I know what He wants me to do; what direction He wants me to go.
In this Bible study, Ms. Thomas challenges the reader to determine to take steps toward growing and I have taken the challenge.
3 things I will do to grow closer to God:
1. Memorize scripture
2. Be consistent in my quiet time with Him
3. Have intentional moments with Him throughout the day (praying, intersession, praising Him)
I want to be a woman after God's own heart and I will start by working on my character. I'll be memorizing Colossians 3:12 this week.
Pray for my mind. It's not as capable of memorization as it used to be!
I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime.........Have an awesome week and seek Him. It's what you were made for!
It seems lately that I haven't had much to say that would be of any interest, so I've not been blogging very much. Add that to my blog not working and I've really not been here much. Add that to the fact that when my blog wasn't working, I decided to reactivate my Facebook account, and I still wasn't blogging very much.
Well...........after Amy helped me with my blog, after spending about 2 days being obsessed with the comments on Facebook and already being sick of it - I am officially ready to fill up some pages with basically insignificant facts about my life.
This week we have all been feeling like we have allergies and we're tired. My husband said alot of people at work were complaining about the same thing. Is it allergies or the chemical plants trying to kill us? I always find it interesting that many people, at the same time, would have the same allergies (just my conspiracy theory).
We took the flu shots this week (we were already feeling tired before this), so mentally I feel alot better. Last year we took them and never got sick. I pray it will be the same this year.
Ok - here's a question for you - does it matter to you what the voice sounds like on a book on tape? I found out yesterday, that it matters to me. I was so excited to get Max Lucado's book on tape "Fearless". I was finally in the car by myself for a few minutes so I decided to play the cd. I was expecting the pleasant voice of Max, himself (is this naive of me?), and yet, I hear this very deep, monotone voice. Not what I expected! I kept listening, but found myself not listening, if you know what I mean. Maybe I was drifting off. I don't know - I just know that there's no way I can listen to four cd's of that guy talking! I think I'll donate that to the church library and just buy the book. It's more conducive to how I study anyway - with a highlighter.
Well, to jump back to the topic of Facebook - as I said at the opening of this post - I'm already sick of it after just a few days! I see "unproductive" written all over that thing! People just stay on there all throughout the day. I would turn it off and then find myself wondering if anyone commented on my comment, and I'd turn it back on. Crazy! I finally just had enough. I'm not going to NOT get on there, I'm just going to limit myself tremendously. (Joyce - scold me if you see me spending too much time on there)
And on that note - It's time to get productive around here. 2 cups of coffee and no more excuses.
Good Monday morning! It seems like it's been awhile since I've posted any thoughts here at HSB. I was so frustrated with my blog not working right, that it wasn't any fun to post - so I didn't. Thankfully, Amy at HSB, heard the desperation in my voice and came to my rescue. So for any of you using MAC - be sure to use Firefox instead of Safari, or you'll be crying for help too.
Last week was extremely busy, with something on the calendar every day. This week is just the opposite. I have conflicting emotions about that. I don't like to be so busy that we're constantly running, yet, I don't like to have too many consecutive days with nowhere to go. I go stir crazy, get cabin fever, and all those other sayings people say.
We do have taekwondo 3 nights this week. Collin will be testing for his official Black belt on Saturday. When you reach probationary Black, you have to wait at least four months before you can test for the official belt, with your rank and name. So this will be Collin's official testing. I'm very proud of both boys for achieving this. However - I am so ready to be done with this sport!
TaeKwonDo is akin to dance or gymnastics, in that, it never ends! The time and money you spend over the years can get up there. I have driven my kids to TKD for the past 3-4 years, 2-4 times per week (2 times per kid). It's not like paying for a seasonal sport such as baseball, soccer or basketball. It goes on and on and on. So......after this testing (assuming he makes it), we're offically hanging up the belts and calling it a day.
We have a plan though..........Collin has set his heart on learning how to play the violin (or the fiddle as we say in Texas!) And when he sets his heart on something - you can bet we'll be hearing the screeching of strings very soon!
He wants to play two types of music with this new love - classical and country. What a combination! I can't wait to have a fiddle player in the family. That will be an added bonus when we have our front porch singings!
On a different "note" (haha) - I am so excited to have learned some new technical things this past week, such as how to transfer pictures from the camera to the computer and how to put YouTube videos on the blog. I also got my Facebook account up and running again. It's been a technical kind of week!
Books I'm reading:
A Full House of Growing Pains by Barbara Cameron
Books for Bible Study:
The Bait of Satan by John Bevere
When Wallflowers Dance by Angela Thomas
Grace for the Moment - Daily Bible by Max Lucado
Movies watched this week: Secrets of the Cave (with Collin)
Australia (with David)
I hope you have an awesome week! Look for God's blessings this week and you're sure to find them!
I have been reading "A Full House of Growing Pains" by Barbara Cameron. This is the story written by the mom (Barbara) of Kirk Cameron and Candace Cameron. As a result, I've been looking up some of their old scenes and commercials and I came across this interview of Candace. It is a great testimony of hope for women married to unsaved men.
Ok. I wrote to the technical team here on HSB and got some advice, so let's see if this works. This post won't have anything significant on it except some unimportant rambling.
Are you spacing, little blog?
I won't know until I type all of this crazy stuff and then post.
I'm trying a new template, once again, because I can't get mine to space properly. How difficult can it be to get a template that spaces between paragraphs?
So this is basically a post just to test it out.
Our week has been hectic, just like I thought it would be. We've had dentist appointments, exterminator appt., electrician appt., and then of course - life.
I hear Obama has continued to shame the U.S. today. Didn't catch all the details this morning, but I will catch up this evening.
Collin had to get a filling today. He is experiencing his first time with a numb mouth. It's a strange thing when your lip feels huge, yet looks normal. He managed to drink a chocolate milkshake though, so I know he'll be fine. Of course, I joined him. No one should drink alone! Haha.
Ok. I'm going to view my post now and if you hear a loud scream, that will mean it didn't work.
Stay tuned.....
Happy Monday everyone! I don't know about you - but I'm ready for a great week. Why? Because I can tell that Fall is in the air. Now, let me clarify this by saying that, here in Southeast Texas, it is about 98% humidity outside, and feels nothing like Fall. BUT - I can tell it's coming and that, alone, makes me excited! David and I actually got up at 6am this morning and started walking again. We haven't done that in a very long time. I've got to get in shape. For what - you say? For life! We're not getting any younger and the pounds don't come off very easy anymore. So we walked about a mile, which was good for the first day.
I titled this post "Opportunities" because both boys have been given great opportunities this past weekend. As you know, Ted (16 yr. old) started "shooting" football on Friday nights and loves it. This past Friday they scheduled him to do the "Game of the Week", which is a game they highlight by showing interviews, as well as, highlights from the game. He had to be at the station at 1pm and he and the reporter had to drive an hour away and film the pep rally and get interviews. Here's where the "opportunity" came in. Once they got to the school, they somehow got hooked up with an airplane pilot who offered to take them up and fly them around the stadium, so they could get arial shots of the game. !!!!!!!! Was I a little concerned? Of course! Was I surprised? No. All of Ted's life, he has been handed some of the most unique opportunities. He actually flew a plane when he was about 7 years old, and so many other things, that it's just amazing. But - back to the story. So, the pilot (who David checked out - the minute Ted called and told his dad about the plans), took them up and Ted had to shoot the stadium scene. THEN - the pilot let Ted fly the plane! Needless to say - it made his night. He texted us the minute he was back on the ground. He didn't get home until 12:30 that night. He was exhausted. That's a long work day for a 16 year old. Incidentally, his photography work looked excellent.
The next opportunity came for Collin. I took him to church last night, where they were having Children's Choir and extra classes for the 5-6 graders. You can do choir and then pick one other class to be involved in, and Collin chose Drama. When I picked him up last night, the teachers both just looked at me and with huge smiles on their faces, said that they would be doing a skit in about 3 weeks, and that Collin was playing a part and that he was hilarious. Oh no! He can be very silly at times, so I was hoping that he was behaving in class. They said that he did great and that he needed to memorize his lines. Well, all the way home, he read me his line, then his partners line, then back and forth, until I had heard the entire skit (5 pages worth of lines). If he does it on stage the way he did it in the car - it will have people rolling. It's a skit about the days of creation, but the dialog is between a serious girl and a silly boy (with props to use - such as a water gun, flashlight, and surfboard). Oh boy.
We have got a full week ahead of us with TaeKwonDo 3 nights this week, a field trip to the replica of the first oil gusher in Texas - right here in Beaumont), an art class on Friday, and 3 dentist appointments. Oh, and of course, there's school, cooking, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, and I'm sure - other things I can't think of right now.
Stay tuned.......
Have a great week!
There is a common denominator in any form of greatness .......reliability.
(Max Lucado, in God Came Near)
Max goes on to say:
It is the quality that produces not momentary heroics but monumental lives. The Bible has its share......consistent and predictable, these saints were spurred by a gut level conviction that they had been called by no one less than God himself. As a result, their work wasnt affected by moods, cloudy days, or rocky trails. They werent addicted to accolades or applause nor deterred by grumpy bosses or empty wallets.... And since their loyalty was not determined by their comfort, they were just as faithful in dark prisons as they were in spotlighted pulpits.
I dont know about you, but I want to be one of them; reliable - not turned upside down by little inconveniences or interruptions in life. I want to NOT fall apart when my schedule doesnt go as planned or call off the whole day because Im tired and not up to it.
I want my family to be able to count on Mom, no matter what. Not run me ragged, but count on me to do my best and always be reliable.
I have been called by no one less than God himself.
I need to be reliable.
For the past six days, we've travelled, visited family, toured an aircraft carrier, climbed a rock wall, driven a speed racer, toured 2 museums, eaten alot of good food, watched movies, and was stalked by a raccoon. It's been a great week!
Our first stop was Corpus, where we visited with family. I was able to see my uncle, who has recently gone to live in a rehabilitation center due to Alzheimer's. That was a very emotional time, but I'm so glad I went. Both of the boys chose to go, as well. I'm really proud of them for that, as it's not easy visiting someone who might not know you anymore. It was a very good visit and I am so thankful that we took the time to do that.
Later that day we toured the Lexington - an aircraft carrier - that is docked in Corpus. They were having a benefit for wounded veterans there, and had 325 corvettes parked on the boat. That was an amazing sight. We got to tour the boat, watch a mock rescue by the coast guard helicopter, and see some of the most expensive, custom made corvettes in the world. It was a hot, but good day.
The next day I got to see my new little niece, who is about 2 months old. She, of course, is beautiful and soft and pink. I'm not used to that! (I'm blessed with rough and tough boys.)
Sunday night we headed to San Antonio. David was scheduled to be in a business meeting Monday through Wednesday, which was the purpose of us traveling this week. We got into S.A. Sunday night and headed to one of our favorite restaurants - The Alamo Cafe. What a way to start the week! Their specialty is homemade tortillas. Spread butter on them and dip them in the hot sauce. Wonderful!
We then moved on to the "hotel" which was actually a resort. The Westin La Canterra - look it up. This place was amazing! Beautifully done in Texas style, it was great. From our room (6th floor) we could look out over the entire city. If you've never been to the hill country - it's worth the trip.
Fast forward a few hours - the first thing Collin wanted to do - was swim. I took he and Ted down to pool - which actually amounted to five different pools. This is where we had our raccoon adventure. The first thing we saw when we got to the pool area, was a fuzzy behind sticking out of a trash can. We stood and watched and he finally came up for air. He noticed he was being watched and took off down the path to another trash can. Of course, we followed, which bugged him, so he decided he would follow us. We kept walking and he kept following. I was starting to get nervous. As we moved further away from the garbage cans, he hung back a little, but kept his eye on us. Every now and then, he would appear near the path we were on. I guess he was just checking us out, but it was a little nerve wracking.
Monday we had a great breakfast and headed to the Shops at La Canterra, which is a great, outdoor mall. It is layed out like a regular mall, but it has no roof. We shopped there and at another mall and then went back to the resort and enjoyed all the fun stuff it had to offer. They have an entire game room for the kids, smores around the fire pit, plus a movie every night. Collin and I watched Race to Witch Mountain that night.
Tuesday we headed downtown to take in some musuems. By the grace of God, I was able to make it there with no problems, find a parking lot, and get out of downtown, all without getting lost. Thank you, Lord! We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe then went to the Wax Musuem and the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, which was amazing. The Wax was all you would expect - wax figures of movie stars and famous people. They did have an entire room dedicated to Christ (very surprising) with the scenes from The Last Supper, Christ carrying the cross, the crucifixion, and a few other scenes.
But the Ripley's museum was the one that surprised us. It was three stories of odd findings of Mr. Ripley. Amazing things and people. If you ever have the chance to visit one of his places, I recommend it.
Wednesday we went up the road to Boerne, which is becoming a little tourist place, filled with cute little shops and antique stores. It used to be about a 30 minute drive from S.A. and now with all the expansion to the North, it is only about 15 min. up the road.
We ate at a little diner there and then I took the boys to a "go cart" place that had been highly recommended. Well, the carts turned out to be little, mini racing cars. You had to watch a 6 min. safety video, wear protective gear, and sign a waiver, just to ride. Collin was too young, so only Ted got to drive. This was very upsetting to my little 10 year old. I promised I would bring him back next year.
Next - we went to Outdoor World, a huge outdoor sports shop. Here, the boys got to rock climb. (I'll post pictures later today). This was a straight up, huge wall, with a bell at the top. If you could make it all the way and ring the bell - that was a major accomplishment. Both boys were able to do it and loved it.
After that we loaded up our stuff, checked out and then waited until David's meeting was over, so we could start our trip home. We got home last night about 10:30. Our dogs were so happy to see us. We had mail stacked all over the diningroom table, and laundry has swallowed the entire bathroom! But we're all so thankful to have had one more adventure and make it home safely.
Did we sit at a desk all week with formulas and facts to learn? No - but my kids were out in the "real world" getting educated. What a way to learn! I love this life that God has given us. Thank you, Lord!
Until next time.....
Blessings!
I am a wife, mom, lover of the Lord, and sinner saved by grace. I hope something I say in this blog will encourage you in your walk with the Lord and your everyday life as a homeschooling mom. Caution: I am opinionated and passionate when it comes to homeschooling. So read at your own risk! "Thank you Lord for being who you are, regardless of who I am."
. After writing in one or two sentence-like conversations, you turn into an idiot! It's all you can do to think in terms of a whole paragraph.
.
) and look forward to filling your ears again very soon.
.
. Not what I expected! I kept listening, but found myself not listening, if you know what I mean. Maybe I was drifting off. I don't know - I just know that there's no way I can listen to four cd's of that guy talking! I think I'll donate that to the church library and just buy the book. It's more conducive to how I study anyway - with a highlighter. 
