Quiet Life

Aug. 30, 2006

The Homeschool Meme

1) One homeschooling book you have enjoyed

For the Children's Sake.

I love the gentle, sweet, informative tone of this book.

2) One resource you wouldn't be without

The library

3) One resource you wish you had never bought

The Annals of America.

They take up a whole shelf and they are rarely opened.

4) One resource you enjoyed last year

Sister Wendy's DVD art series.

These DVD's piqued Emma's interest in Art.

We all enjoyed them...and wish we could find another series like them.

Do you know of one?

5) One resource you'll be using next year

For Katie

The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading
Calvert Math
Getty-Dunbar Italics
First Language Lessons
Any Child Can Write
This Country of Ours
Pathway Readers

6) One resource you would like to buy

Rosetta Stone

French

7) One resource you wish existed

Art History Series like Sister Wendy...
but another person...with a different perspective

8) One homeschooling catalog you enjoy reading

The classic Timberdoodle.

9) One homeschooling website you visit often

Well, I used to visit The Well Trained Mind ever day (for five years)

But lately...Ebay has been my most often visited site.

I purchased three of Emma's expensive texts on Ebay. Three books for the price of one!

Woop!

Please feel free to take this meme.

Encourage one another,

Donna

Jun. 21, 2006

Homemade, Homeschool Yearbook

Look at what I found this morning!

A Homeschool Yearbook.

Made by the homeschoolers....and it looks fantastic!

Check it out!

I have been involved with a yearbook as Head Photographer at Hillsdale my senior year (Where I took many pictures of Dana's husband...he was in a lot of groups :o)

But I was not involved in the editing and "construction" stage.

My boys (especially Matthew) really enjoy their yearbooks from Faith Christian School.

I am going to think about this for the next month, very seriously.

Emma would love such a fantastic keepsake!

Have any of you worked on a yearbook committee?
Is Microsoft Publisher easy to use?

Encourage one another,
Donna

Jun. 21, 2006

There's no crying in baseball!

The Pink Glove

Sounds like the name of a cute children's book, doesn't it?

Katie starts T-ball on Saturday.
I hope she had fun, and doesn't cry. She cries so easily....very easily.

And as you all know.

"There's no crying in baseball, there's no crying in baseball!"

Encourage one another,
Donna

Jun. 17, 2006

I wish I had done better.

If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.

~Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

I love that quote. But it haunts me.

There have been so many mistakes. So much drama. Such a temper.

I know I am forgiven.

But there are no do overs with our children. You only have a certain amount of time to teach them and assist in training their character.

And all the while you are training theirs...yours is being trained too.

It's serious business, this raising of children.

Although I was doing by best at the time....I wish I had done better.

And now for the boys, I pray.

I prayed then. I pray now.

I will always pray.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Jun. 17, 2006

Mother of the Year

Part of a Meme and an award

I was tagged for the Seven things meme....and well, I have answered most of those questions so many times that I will just post my favorite books and movies.

Okay?

Seven books (or a series of books) I love:

Sister of my Heart by Chitra Divakaruni
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Bible
Seventeenth Summer By Maureen Daly
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Seven Movies I'd Watch Over and Over Again:

To Kill A Mockingbird
You've Got Mail
The Wizard of Oz
Singin' in the Rain
Rocky
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
She's the One
The Jerk
Parenthood
The Shawshank Redemption
The King of Kings
Independence Day
Gone with the Wind

There, I gave you some extra movies :o)

Most recently viewed:
Gone with the Wind and Pride and Prejudice.

Mother of the Year Award

8:00 am

Katie: Mommy this milk tastes funny.
Mommy: It's just fine Katie. Eat your cereal.

12:00 pm

Katie: Can I have something to drink? Can I have some milk?
Mommy: Sure.
Katie: It tastes icky.
Mommy: Get some chocolate and put it in there. It will taste better.

7:00 pm

Matthew: Mom, there is something wrong with this milk. I noticed yesterday that it tastes bad.
Mommy: *sniffs the milk* Eww...It is sour. The date's fine. But, eww.
Poor Katie.

7:02 pm
Yelling out the back door to Katie playing in the sandbox;
Mommy: Katie! You were right. Matthew says the milk is bad, too!
Katie: That's what I told you.

Encourage one another...and sniff the milk,
Donna

Jun. 17, 2006

Laughing Tomatoes

in our backyard
we plant
tomatoes

the happiest
of all
vegetables

with joy
they grow round
with flavor

laughing
they change
to red

turning
their wire-framed
bushes

into
Christmas trees
in spring

Francisco X. Alarcon

While there's life....there's hope.
~Cicero...or Terrance...both ancient dudes

That's my garden.

Two tomatoes and two peppers courtesy of Lynn. (started from seeds)
One rose courtesy of the grocery store!

They are in pretty sad soil. But I am giving this a try anyway.
Since the picture was taken the tomato plant in the back row is really growing well. The one in the front row is not.

Just a few fresh tomatoes....that's all I need.

I don't need anything...

just a tomato or two.

How does your garden grow?

Encourage one another,

Donna

Jun. 5, 2006

What should I read next?

Sweet words

Yesterday as I was gabbing about the Summer Reading Challenge, Emma said to me,

"What should I read next?"

Those words are almost as sweet as...

"Will you read outloud to me?"

he he he

(And Cindy, you don't know how much I would love to come to Missouri and get you started on To Kill A Mockingbird!! :o) You could sit in the sun with your eyes closed and I would read and read and read. Just like old times!)

Anyway, so my reply to Emma, who has just finished "Vanity Fair" (which she enjoyed and found humorous) was...

"Exodus" is an excellent book, or you could read "The Hawk and the Dove" before I get to it.

Even tho those are both good suggestions, we felt like browsing around Border's books last night.

I searched and found "Sister of My Heart" and "The Secret Life of Bees". Both books I have enjoyed very much, in the last five years, which Emma hasn't read.

(Emma was, by the way, looking at a picture book entitled "Boys" and another called "Laguna Beach". )

When we got home I stacked the books on the kitchen table.

This morning, one of the books is missing.

Looks like Emma is reading "Sister of my Heart".

And that makes me smile.

One filled with joy preaches without preaching.
~Mother Teresa

Encourage one another,
Donna

May. 29, 2006

Summer Reading Program

I have signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge 2006!

Just a few more days to sign up if you are interested.
Do so here.

I have chosen books from Semicolon's list of 63 Best Fiction Books.

Crunchy Cons by Ron Dreher I have heard so much about this book! I've read a few chapters and am finding it good reading.

The Hawk and the Dove by Penelope Wilcock Recommended by two great readers:Semicolon and MamaT.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell Don't know why...just thought it would be a nice read.

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse I hear Wodehouse is very funny.

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser My sister Sue read this in high school and told me the whole story. I then saw the movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift called A Place in the Sun. Such Drama.
I have placed An American Tragedy at the end of the summer... I want to recover from The Picture of Dorian Grey before I enter the mind of another troubled young man.

Maybe I will force Emma to listen to me read Seventeenth Summer...
It is her 17th summer, ya know :o)
I'll let you know...perhaps I will read her the 'good parts version'.

*********

In other news...

I have completed the two weeks of the Fat Flush and lost 14 pounds.

I will follow the diet suggested in the book for Phase Two. (That means I get to add one piece of whole wheat bread a day (or starchy veggie)) Yippee!

I will not continue drinking the cranwater as it makes me gag.

I can't say I see a difference in my physical appearance, but I am very pleased to be on the road to better health and the possibility of swimming with the children some day in the future, wearing something other than my black skirt and black pants, and not being so self-conscious about my weight. :o) (I am too ashamed to wear a swimsuit or even shorts)

For those of you just starting the Fat Flush;

You can do it! It's a great plan and it works if you follow the rules.
Two weeks is over before you know it!

My 30 year love affair with Diet Dr. Pepper is a thing of the past.

My husband said that the garbage men will think I have died because there is not a bag of crushed Diet Dr. Pepper cans waiting at the curb to be recycled.

It's pretty remarkable how I don't miss it at all!

*********

Memorial Day blessings to you and your loved ones!

Encourage one another,
Donna

May. 23, 2006

Yes. Homeschoolers can have a prom too :o)

Homeschool Prom 2006

Emily, Emma and Kathryn....the three amigos

Marie and Emma....the best of childhood friends

My favorite photo!

Sis' Sue's darling boys and husband ready for their prom in Missouri last week!

I like this shot!

I'm sure there was a lot of laughter :o)

Since the girls got home so late, I haven't spoken with them yet...
I can't wait to hear all about it!!!

Have a great weekend, all!

Encourage one another,
Donna

May. 19, 2006

Five things my mother taught me.

Friday Five

Five things my mother taught me.

1. My mother taught me how to love my children.
2. She taught me to make spaghetti and gravy.
3. She taught me to appreciate music.
4. She taught me to make her coffee in the morning so it would be ready when she woke up to drive us to school.
5. She taught me that it is joyous to be a mom.

Thanks LB!

*******

The homeschool prom is tonight. Emma will with go with her girlfriends. Her dear friend Marie, from up north, came to town for the dance, (She was asked by one of Emma's guy friends)

It's all about hair and makeup and fingernails and dresses today....

So fun :o)

I wish we could have gone to the prom with our girlfriends....
It would have been so much more fun than going with those boys I didn't really care a hoot about. I just went because they asked....and well...who wants to miss a big party and the chance to dress up!

Anyway....I will post pictures tomorrow of the gorgeous girls in their finery!

This is a night they will always remember :o)

Looking forward to reading your comments today....I think this is a really great(and inspirational) Friday Five!

Encourage one another,
Donna

May. 18, 2006

Shine!

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other with us in our minds, wherever we go.
~Martha Washington

(The girls are listening to Shine by the Newsboys as they jump for fun!)

shine
make ´em wonder what you´ve got
make ´em wish that they were not
on the outside looking bored
shine
let it shine before all men
let´em see good works, and then
let ´em glorify the Lord

Encourage one another,
Donna

May. 13, 2006

Happy Mother's Day

Dust first or Vacuum first?

I never could remember!

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, the one's who can remember the rules....and the one's who can't.

The little girl in the picture is signing, "I don't know".
(I just know it :o)

Happy Day!

Love,
Donna

May. 10, 2006

Sockpaloooza

Serendipity

Here are my amazing Sockapaloooza socks, all the way from Denmark!

They couldn't be more special to me!

I was hoping for pink....I was dreaming of lace...

They are perfect!

And the fact that they were knit by the talented Lene from Denmark seriously couldn't have been better!

I'm sure most of you remember that I am 50% Danish. My grandmother, who taught me to knit, lived in Denmark until she was about 16.

And the stamps on the package....beautiful artwork by Constantin Hansen.
(Carl Christian Constantin Hansen)

My grandpa was named Carl Hansen.

How about that?

Thank you Lene!
Thank you Alison!

I love my socks :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

May. 10, 2006

Recently read....

"But how little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue, she could easily conjecture."

~Elizabeth Bennet on Lydia and Wickham

Well put, don't you think?

Again, as in so many other things in life, the balance must be found.

Elizabeth's sister Mary has only virtue and well, she is a bit of a bore.

I think about this very thing often as it pertains to my children...and their future husbands and wives.

I very much understand how those passions can blind the younguns' to the importance of those virtues that will be so important in the years to come.

The Jane Austen books and movies have become a teaching tool for me.

Who is the better choice?

Wickham with his smooth ways or proud Mr. Darcy?
Flashy Willoughby or serious Brandon?

It is clear as can be by the end of the stories.

I can only hope and pray our children will chose wisely.

Thank goodness we don't have any Lydia's about the house....

so far!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Apr. 30, 2006

Q-T Pie

A Little Saturday Shopping

Have you visited this store?
I love that clean crisp kitchy stuff!
And the colors.
Nice.

See Jane Work.

See Donna Spend.

I also have a little baby shopping to do today.
This is my new standard gift.

Robeez

I'd better get that Crockpot soup started.

And scramble some eggs!

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Apr. 26, 2006

Cheerio

Very Exciting News

Do you remember the little blurb on the blog I wrote about Emma wishing to spread her wings....

Well, dear friend, Lynn in Wi, emailed me soon after she read that entry and mentioned that she knew a wonderful missionary family in England. Would Emma possibly be interested in a trip to England???

Since this whole idea just plopped in our laps... Emma and I had to give it some thought. Four days later we were ready to ask Lynn to talk to her friends. Which she did.

They were very open and willing to have Emma come to visit them!!!!

Emma and I have been emailing back and forth with the Waldeckers for the last three weeks...and....

I purchased the airline ticket yesterday!

Emma is definitely going to England this summer!!!

All of the details have fallen into place so well. Emma will just act as part of their family (six children) and do what they do...and serve where they serve...

She is excited....well, as excited as our calm Emma gets.

I'm the giddy one :op

We feel so blessed!!!

By the way, Emma will be in Manchester.

Have you been there?

Encourage one another,
Donna