For those of you who have followed this blog for a year or more you will be aware of 'Black Friday Sales' in the past. For those of you who are newer to the blog - I will explain briefly!

   'Black Friday' is an American term for the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always the forth Thursday in November. On the next day most people have the day off work and the Christmas sales start in earnest that day! It is about the same as the Boxing day sales here in England.

   Alot of our favourite Homeschooling companies also have great Black Friday sales on that day or the week around Thanksgiving. So we tend to post up the details of those sales as we find notification of them to give you all a heads up.

   It is a day when alot of websites crash from the volume of traffic, so I would suggest if there is a sale you want to take advantage of to do so early in the morning here before the States begin to awake! Once you get to lunchtime here it can be very difficult to manage any downloads.

   So, here are the details of the first sale we have been notified of - the Hands of a Child sale. Remember that alot of these companies have ebook products which we can enjoy without any shipping costs. Enjoy your shopping and watch this space over the next two weeks for notification of all the other great bargains available. - Deedee

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For Today, Monday,  November 9th, 2009

Outside My Window... It's 6:30 a.m. and pitch black; it's currently 34 ~ expecting a sunny high of 55.  Today's normal hi/low is 44/29.

I'm thinking...puppy, puppy, puppy.  (We are sooo excited!)         

From the learning rooms...today we will have school in the van while running errands.  Then the rest of the week will be normal.

I am thankful for....daughters who diligently and joyfully hide God's Word in their heart.  We had a wonderful time at Saturday's regional Bible Quizzing competition and our team did wonderfully with a couple of first places + winning a double-overtime for second place, and Amber quizzing out once and almost a second time except time was up in the middle of her anwser.  Also thankful for very sweet blogger friends and local Christian friends that we visited yesterday after church. 
  
From the kitchen...  
M - Baked Potatoes
T - Anna's Choice/Chicken Fried Rice
W - Pasta w/Homemade Sauce
TH - Deluxe Baked Bean Hotdish
F - Salad & Leftovers

I am wearing... black exercise capris, berry-colored fleecy top, sports socks, hair is in a pony.  Something comfy for now - will change later.

I am reading... Thru the Bible Each Year: OT: Jeremiah; NT: Hebrews, KJB;
Reading a lot on holistic care of dogs - more about that on a future post.  

I am hoping... I'm feeling a tich under the weather, I hope I feel better shortly - I have much planned for the day and don't have time for this.  

I am creating... need to get to a good fabric store so I can make the puppet theater.

I am hearing... the clock tick; my fingers bang on the keyboard.   

Around the house & barn... a big thorough house cleaning this week getting ready for puppy's homecoming so we can just enjoy quality time with her.  

One of my favorite things... doing reserch ~ learning new stuff.
  
I am going... to do some shopping to get ready for puppy's arrival; also get some groceries; and buy our annual stuff for Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes. (today)  
   
A few plans for the rest of the week (besides school)...
T - clean house
W - clean house; lead Awana Cubbies 
TH - Get everything set up for puppy's homecoming
F - Roadtrip ~ we go get our Puppy  
S - Enjoy Puppy
S - Church; Enjoy Puppy

A picture thought I am sharing with you...
Online Images
Can you tell I'm in love?


That's all for today!
Thanks for stopping!  Have a Blessed Week!
 Much thanks to our hostess Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook

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   Have you seen the Christmas decorations up in town? Have you been stocking up on special holiday foods and gift wrap yet? Well, here is one more holiday sale - but this time for your homeschool!

   Currclick do instantly downloadable ebooks of Home ed curriculum and resources. If you do pop over to take a look please consider clicking on the Currclick box in the sidebar as that is our affiliate link and we get a small commision on your order if you do. Thanks - Deedee

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   I know I'm loooooong overdue for an update. I'll try to get on soon, but there has been alot going on around here. Please pray for us as we deal with some situations in our life that are less than pleasant!

   In the meantime here is a sale that is going on at Currclick starting today! If you pop over please us the affiliate link box in the right hand sidebar as we get a small commision your your purchase at no cost to you - Thank you! - Deedee

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For Today, Tuesday,  November 3rd, 2009

Outside My Window... It's 8:00 a.m. and a sunny, but frosty 23 degrees; looking for a high of 45 with a chance of rain later.  Today's normal hi/low is 49/30.

I'm thinking...my brain is a puzzle, thinking about a dozen different things all at once.         

From the learning rooms...busy like usual...in addition to our beloved Teaching Textbooks math, the girls are both starting "Your Business Math" by Simply Charlotte Mason.  They named their businesses, "Anna's Pet's N More" and "Amber's Old Fashioned Bookstore", made their company logos, and ordered their inventory yesterday.  I wish math had been this fun when I was their age. 

I am thankful for....old time gospel music.  We attended a gospel music concert Sunday night at a local church and it was such a blessing.  It seemed like the theme was Revelations throughout the concert and the blessed hope of our soon departure.
  
From the kitchen...  
M - Salmon
T - Ham & Eggs
W - Beef Stew
TH - Cheeseburgers
F - TN/FL Geography Presentations - BBQ Ribs, Key Lime Pie, Citrus Drink
S - Teriyaki Stir Fry Chicken & Rice

I am wearing... denim capris, brown 3/4 length sleeve t-shirt with a pretty fall tree embroidery, sports socks, hair is damp & pulled back with a scrunchie

I am reading... Thru the Bible Each Year: OT: Jeremiah; NT: Philemon, KJB;
Just finished the book, "The Blue Zones" by Dan Buettner.  An interesting book about longevity...research about four areas around the world that have the highest percentage of people who live to be over 100 years old and what attributed to their long lives and good health.  Although definitely not a Christian book, it inspired me to improve my eatting habits.  I don't necessarily want to live longer, but rather live healthier.
I am currently reading up on holistic care of dogs - more about that on a future post.  

I am hoping... to stay on task today.  

I am creating... need to get to a good fabric store so I can make the puppet theater.

I am hearing... the clock tick; my fingers bang on the keyboard; an ocassional thump upstairs as the girls get ready for the day.    

Around the house & barn... clean kitchen; muck stalls & paddock before farrier comes to trim hooves later today.  

One of my favorite things... gazing at God's beautiful creation.
  
I am going... to Walmart & another grocery store today.  
   
A few plans for the rest of the week (besides school)...
T - grocery shop; vote (gov. school wants to raise taxes); farrier comes out to trim hooves
W - lead Awana Cubbies
TH - Pick up Azure Standard order (grain & stuff); laundry; Amber has violin lesson; Bible Quizzing practice
F - Hopefully meat processor will call and say our 1/4 cow is ready for pick-up this wk; Girls will give their geography presentations
S - Bible Quizzing Regional Competition

A picture thought I am sharing with you...

Jeff finishing the siding on the sauna haus Saturday.  He will be starting on the inside soon.  I will have to paint the outside next summer.

That's all for today!
Thanks for stopping!  Warm Wishes for 

a Wonderful Week!
 Much thanks to our hostess Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook

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Hey everyone! The Learning A-Z website is doing their FREE 7 day trial membership to their sites again. Here are the details below. It is a great time to check out the sites and see if you want to subscribe or even just to get a few downloads while they are FREE! Enjoy! - Deedee

Today’s best teachers meet the unique needs of every student. That’s where LearningA-Z.com comes in. Through six integrated websites, LearningA-Z.com provides a wealth of downloadable, printable, projectable, and online resources for every K-6 classroom. But don’t take our word for it — sign up for a free 7-day trial by November 13, 2009 and experience the sites for yourself! Filled with thousands of readers at 27 levels of difficulty, ReadingA-Z.com provides resources for differentiated instruction and improving comprehension. Also contains assessments, worksheets, lesson plan templates, and many other teacher resources! Raz-Kids.com is an interactive reading site where kids can read or listen to 27 levels of animated books online — anytime, anywhere! ScienceA-Z.com delivers science curriculum resources, organized by unit themes and grouped into grade spans, for elementary teachers to teach a concept at each student’s appropriate reading level. WritingA–Z.com provides teachers with all the resources necessary to teach the common process writing genres, including expository, narrative, persuasive, procedural, and transactional. Contains thousands of words placed in content-area, functional, and resource-correlated categories. Teachers can also build their own vocabulary lists and lessons!

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It's official friends, we have reserved a puppy! 
After two months of searching for a new dog, many emails, some research and a nice persuasive speech by our daughters, a family meeting and vote, a phone call, and sending a down payment, we have now officially adopted our newest family member.  (whew)

We are getting a Leonberger Puppy.  She will be 5 weeks old tomorrow so we have to wait until about November 13th until we can go and get her.  The breeder is in Minnesota, but not close by.

Here she is, currently she is called "Dark Green & Orange" since that is the color of nail polish they put on her nails to tell her apart from the rest.  Obviously we will be finding her a better name.  She is the runt of the litter, so, no, we are not paying the going price of $1,000 - $1,500. 
  
(All these photos by the breeder seem to be slowing down the loading of my blog, so I have removed as many pictures as possible, you can go here to view photos.  The first photos are of Loverikets Khefren, our puppy's BIG grandpa from Norway.)

This is our puppy's papa, Braveheart, or Braver.  Don't you just love the name.  His papa came from Norway and his mama from Canada.

    (Photo of our puppy's mama is here. she is the last doggie shown.)

This is our puppy's mama, Sweetie Pie.  She is from Canada.

The Leonberger is a giant breed dog with it's foundation in the Newfoundland, Great Pyrenees and Saint Bernard breeds. The breed's name derives from the city of Leonberg, Germany.  According to legend, the Leonberger was bred as a 'symbolic dog' that would mimic the lion in the town crest.  It is a LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog) good at pulling carts & sleds, search & rescue, enjoys water play & hikes, and surprisingly, agility.  It guards with it's size, not with it's teeth and is very loyal to it's flock and family.  The average female (much smaller than the male) is about 27" - 29" to the shoulder and about 130 lbs.    

Excitement abounds at our house!!! 

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I haven't had much time to sit down and think through a post lately (started one), so I thought I'd just post some recent photos...

I am really lovin' our hens this year, they are over-achiever layers.  I was able to give away 4 1/2 doz. eggs this weekend. (Pictured: Our rooster, Col. Sanders; and one of our Plymouth Barred Rock hens)

Anna doing her Teaching Textbooks math.

This afternoon ~ my baby Sundance gets his first rider (Anna) - 'Mr. No Big Deal'.

I guess I'm next. 

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I have just been in touch with this lady who is hoping to get this message out to all home edders...

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Sarah

Message:

I am launching a competition open to home-educated children and young people only. To enter the competition, you need to produce a story about bullying.
Your story may be told in any one of the following 3 formats:
a) a written story
b) a film
c) a comic strip
Whichever format you choose, you must be able to send it to me in digital form, either by e-mail (writing and comic strips) or on a DVD rom (films).

All work submitted will be made public on a website in Anti-Bullying Week (November 16 to 20), unless you wish your work not to be shown, which is fine.
I am in the process of finding judges and prizes, so will let people know more about those when I have arranged them!
If you are interested, contact me as soon as possible for an application form and more details.
Ali    ali@yggdrasil.org.uk    

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The Royal Opera House is looking for a young person aged 11-14 to write a fanfare.  You can find out more here http://www.roh.org.uk/education/schoolsandteachers/fanfare.aspx?utm medium=fanfare& emailsource= 4270&utm_ campaign=education& utm_source= fanfare
 or here http://www.numu.org.uk/fanfare/.

The closing date is 12 February 2010.

-

Sarah

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