I have been away preparing for, standing up in, and recovering from my baby sister's wedding!  It was a lot of fun!  My Grandmother made the trip all the way from Alabama to join us.  Boy, was she tired when it was all over!  Being responsible for her made me remember to rest and eat, too. 

      This picture is my brother and me dancing.  I don't know that we've ever danced before!

      I hope to get more pictures posted soon!!

I

      My boys woke me up this morning with ds11 asking to make doughnuts.  I wanted no part of it.  I was up way too late last night and already had my "to do" list made up.  I told him he could make doughnuts, but I was taking a shower.  He got out the cookbook, made the dough, and set it to chill for two hours.  By the time I had showered and dressed, straightened my room, read my Bible, called a friend for her birthday, and started a load of laundry, ds was rolling out the dough and ready to cut out the doughnuts.  (He was using a play-doh rolling pin which, he assured me, his sister made him wash. LOL  Poor guy it took him forever to roll out all that dough!)  He used a mug to cut out the doughnuts and the lid from a vitamin bottle to make the holes.  (I wish I had taken pictures!)  I didn't want him messing with hot oil, so I fried the doughnuts (and the holes) in olive oil while he finished cutting them out.  Dd helped, too, shaking the finished doughnuts in cinnamon and sugar mixture.  It wound up being very fun, all of us in the kitchen singing at the top of our lungs!  (Be glad you weren't here!)  My kitchen is a mess and ds said afterwards, "I had no idea this would be such a big job..."  But I had fun setting aside my list for the morning.

      This afternoon, however, is business as usual (kind of).  Dd13 is working on her Advanced Math lesson.  (Did I mention she loves the Dive CD?!)  Then hopefully she'll have time to work on her PSAT prep book and practice music.  There is also some kitchen cleaning with ds11 that will happen before our Sunday School cookout tonight.  Ds11 did a Grammar lesson, a Spelling lesson, read his Bilble, worked on his verses for memorization, read a chapter in By The Great Horn Spoon, and has a Math Review Test to do before we leave.  I guess we've started school, huh?  (Oh well, we take a lot of days off during the year, anyway.)  

      For those of you who have been reading for a while, you know that finances are part of what our family is working on.  So here's a quick update:  We've been on our cash budget almost 18 months.  We have paid off three debts, with two big ones left.  We are in a pretty tight situation from now 'til November and really covet your prayers during this time.  My husband's job will be over between April and September next year.  My ds11 probably needs braces soon, but we're still paying on dd's, so that's not possible right now.  We're trying to decide which one of us should get a part time job to get us over the hump.  I am still trusting God (sometimes minute by minute) to take care of us as we strive to be obedient and get out of debt.....

      Blessings!!

      A couple of you have made comments that your three year olds wouldn't be ready for some of the things I put on my "curriculum list" for this school year.  I just wanted to clarify that I don't know if my ds is ready for all those things either.  They are just ideas to try.  I combined some of the things I have with ideas from Ten Things To Do Before Age Ten by the Bluedorns. 

      Things we have tried so far:  We are working on Phonics Pathways.  It is pretty intense for someone so young, so we only do one page at a time with two M&Ms for a reward.  We are currently on page 58.  Cutting out big objects is going pretty well.  Ds loves to play the card game war.  He is still figuring what number is bigger.  He loves doing calendar and doing chores if he's the helper.  (He certainly bucks doing chores alone.)  We are 5 lessons into Math-U-See and he loves it.  I don't know how much he's really learning, but he's having fun!

      I'll keep you posted.  Feel free to leave new preschool ideas for me!!

      It's funny to reach a new stage that you've seen coming, but then all of a sudden here it is.  That's what has happened with dd.  I know she's been growing up and becoming responsible.  We've done a lot of training with her over the years, and now she's this cute, fun, working machine.  She has been doing mother's helper jobs and cleaning house for a couple of older ladies, but this summer she has added yard work and real babysitting to her work schedule.  This week alone she has 3 babysitting jobs and a yardwork job!  It has been really nice for her.  She loves the people she has been sitting for and the older lady she does yard work for is such good company and pays so well!  My ds has been mowing lawns and pet sitting and has made as much as dd.  It's neat to see him work towards a goal.  My children have to pay for some of their own clothes and for all church activities.  I think both kids have enough for this year's winter retreat and are starting to save towards next summer's conference!  I remember how wonderful it felt to earn money.  I hope to teach my kids the money management skills that I was never taught.  We talk a lot about it and help them plan.  I hope they catch on quickly, instead of learning the hard way like their parents! 

      I had a great day!  I'm satisfied and tired, but a good tired, from my day.  This morning I had a small group where we are discussing The Heart of Anger.  We discussed chapter 7, looking at what is in our hearts.  It was very convicting.  I think we did a good job of encouraging each other to have good motives and to help our children learn to handle anger productively.  One other thing we discussed was being willing to slow down our school schedule when character training opportunities present themselves.  I personally have a hard time with that.  I want to press forward to show progress, not slow down.  I know that's an area where God is working on me.

      After our study, I picked up dd from a sleepover and brought her home to eat and shower before her babysitting job.  I dropped ds's friend off from their sleepover, took dd to her babysitting job, and then went to help a friend by watching their handicapped daughter while they watched their kindergartener perform in a CYT summer camp showcase.  The showcase was so cute, and the girl I was watching was all smiles.  She loves commotion and music.  After the showcase, the families treated dd and me to dinner.  We hung out and ate and talked.  Dd stayed to swim and I went home to my "men."  Ds11 cleaned the kitchen and ds3 and I did some math games and some phonics.  Then we sat and snuggled.  (I hope I never forget how to do that.)  Dd was paid well for her babysitting and the parents were very complimentary.  (It's nice to hear good things about your kids, isn't it?)  The kids were exhausted and went to bed early, and I sat down with a good book. 

      We also got the syllabus for dd's Anatomy class today.  It looks great.  Everything is spelled out and the expectations are clear.  Getting things like that settled makes me so excited for school to start!  I am such a geek! LOL  The info for homeschool volleyball came as well.  Dd is not so sure she wants to do it.  I'm hoping she does.  It's only 9 weeks and she needs some kind of physical activity.

      Tomorrow looks like a "free" day!  I hope so!

      Have a great night! 

      Don't you just love this time of year?  I love reading blogs and seeing what everyone is planning for the new school year!  It gives me lots of ideas and sometimes set my head spinning.  I have really enjoyed reading (and checking the links) for genamayo 's blog.  There are so many good ideas there.  I think I'll have to "steal" some of them.  She's so organized.  If you have children between the ages of 1 and 8, you should go over and check things out. 

      We'll start getting acquainted with our new curriculum on Monday.  We're using a lot of new items this year, so I like to do a subject a day and get the kids used to how the lessons will go.  Also, ds3 1/2 will be "doing school" and I need to get a feel for the flow of the day.  I think I did an earlier post-homeschool-conference post about what dd13 and ds11 will be using for the fall.  We are really liking Sonlight.  Ds11 and I are in week 13 of Core 3/4.  The literature is wonderful! 

      I've spent a lot of time reviewing methods and theories of homeschooling young children.  It's been a while since I've had a three year old, and I was way too structured and pushy with my first.  So here are some things we'll be doing:  Memorizing Scripture and Hymns using Truth and Grace Book 1

                                                     Reading the Children's Bible

                                                     Various Read Alouds  (Mainly Sonlight and Five in a Row)

                                                     Phonics (Phonics Pathways and Alpha-phonics -- Found at my library)

                                                     Beginning Writing/Copywork  --  This is something he resists.

                                                     Crafts --  Cutting, Gluing, Painting, Playdough

                                                     Games -- Cards (War, Go Fish, etc.), Dominoes, Checkers, Bingo, etc.

                                                     CDs --  Classical Music, Jonathan Park, Books on Tape, Math Facts,

                                                                    Hymns, etc.

                                                     DVDs --  Leap Frog, Magic School Bus, Anything Educational

                                                     Piano --  DD13 is teaching him in five minute sessions.

                                                    Calendar --  Putting up the date, saying the date, Days of the Week, Months 

                                                                          of the year, Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday

                                                    Chores -- Putting Silverware away, Pulling up covers on bed, Putting toys

                                                                      away, Setting Table, Unloading groceries, Pouring from small

                                                                      pitcher,  etc.

                                                     PE --  Gym class at Co-op, Walks, Bike riding, Trampoline, etc.

                                                     Math --  I've purchased (used) the K curriculum of Math-U-See and Making

                                                                   Math Meaningful to see what I can pull out for this year.  Our library

                                                                   has math videos.  I purchased a play money kit. We have number 

                                                                   games.  I'm borrowing some Mathtacular dvds. 

                                                     Science/History/Geography --  I'm hoping to provide something topical and

                                                                   fun.  Maybe I'll even explore the world of Lapbooking. 

      I definitely believe in less formal academics for younger kids than I used to.  DD was given 10 subjects starting in first grade and our schedule was very rigid.  I wouldn't deviate from my plan except to surpass it.  It's taken me many years to help dd relax about schooling.  I tried to shove my middle ds into the same box.  Luckily he fought me sooooo much that I had to re-evaluate my methods.  Now I try to teach to my kids learning style (and interests, if possible).  I have a hard time relaxing because I feel like I'm relaxing my standards if I do that.  So I will introduce lots of things and my little guy will set the pace.  I just really want learning to be fun and rewarding! 

      Keep posting your ideas and schedules.  I'm enjoying reading them!  Have a great day!    

      Well, I had one of THOSE days today!  I woke to the two boys fighting.  The toilet wouldn't flush properly.  I got the phone call I waited all morning for as soon as I got in the shower.  Then the phone call took longer than I thought and my hair dried funny.  Ds 3 whined about everything.  My husband was going to have the time to do some outside chores for me and it started raining.  I was supposed to use this afternoon to study and I forgot the book I needed.  I wound up with a headache this evening when I was supposed to go to a cookout.  I went anyway and I'm glad I did.  A few minutes with a good friend puts all else into perspective.  I know she's praying for my sinful attitude and I love her for it.

      Tomorrow we're discussing Chapter 4 of The Heart of Anger in my small group.  It's been very interesting thus far.  The main thrust of this chapter is that the first rule for disciplining children is to have more discipline than the children.  This I need work on in a few areas. 

      I've decided I need a few new cookbooks.  I need recipes with natural, healthy ingredients and not a million ingredients.  Anybody have a suggestion?

      Well, my mom and step-dad came for their visit over the weekend.  It was very nice!  God is so good to have turned things around in the past two years.  My mom came over on the morning of the 4th and took me to breakfast.  Her hair was cut and colored and she was dressed in clean clothes that fit her nicely.  I told her how nice she looked and how glad I was that she was taking care of herself.  She was very gracious.  We wound up going to an old restaurant that we used to go to when I was a kid.  Then we went grocery shopping for the cookout on the 5th.  It was fun.  The next afternoon everybody came over: my mom, stepdad, brother, his girlfriend, their baby,  and my sister, Mel.  (She was still here from the bbq on the 4th that she went to with us.)  Everybody got along so well and seemed to have a good time.  Ds3 1/2 is always so squirrley when my brother is around.  He probably thinks ds is not very well behaved.  Oh well!

      I found a book called Phonics Pathways at the library today.  Ds 3 1/2 and I started it this evening.  I'm glad I found it because the first two sets of Bob Books are easy to read.  Then they bring new sounds in and I'm not sure how to teach them separately.  P. P. seems to go through word or sound families in a progression and I'm more comfortable with that.  I also found some Shapes to Cut books to copy for ds to get some scissor practice. 

      My sister's baby is due the 15th and I am obsessively checking my email and phone for messages.  It is her first baby and she lives far away from me, so it is a little bittersweet.  We can't go see the baby and I'm not satisfied with waiting 'til Christmas to see the little guy.  We bought her a webcam for a baby gift so we can see him and the cousins can "get to know" each other.  Please keep my sister in your prayers if you think of it.  Her name is Andrea. 

      The summer is going so quickly.  I hope I remember to enjoy it before the schedule of fall comes back to overwhelm me.  Enjoy your summer, too!!

      Well, dd13 returned from DC today.  Her flight was cancelled so she returned a little later than planned (which stressed me out).  She had a wonderful time.  She came back bearing gifts for all.  She brought me a beautiful bookmark and a journal for keeping sermon notes.  She took notes in some areas of interesting things she learned.  She also came home with a list of famous people she'd like to look up.  I think traveling agrees with her.  I'm going to have to get used to that.  She took a ton of pictures and decided that flying is pretty cool after all.

     I was so pleased at dd's "re-entry" to the family.  She gave everyone their gifts, showed everyone her pictures, and then she played with her brothers, took ds3 potty, and helped clean the kitchen.  I'm so thrilled to see the reunion between my children.  They do love each other after all.  I need to remember that next time a war breaks out here.

     My mom arrives this week.  We are having a cookout on Saturday.  I am feeling very positive about this visit.  Our times together keep improving.  It's interesting to see where God has taken me on this journey of reconciliation with my mom.  When I was 15, I was an angry, hurt, devastated, bitter, cynical girl.  Now, I am more hopeful, but realistic.  The past two years especially have seen some good things.  I should take some time this week to pray about this.

     Have a great July 4th!!    

      Early this evening I managed to "sneak" out to the library (my respite, my home away from home).  On the way I stopped at Dairy Queen to get a treat.  (I was craving ice cream something awful!)  I did the drop-off and pick-up of books, then decided to sit in my car and finish my treat.  (I confess, I was getting
rid of the evidence.)  So, as I'm sitting there I reach for the book I brought to read. (My quest for ice cream was obviously premeditated!)  I brought my Heart of Anger study book. So I sat in the library parking lot reading about self discipline while I finished my chocolate-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough blizzard!  It struck me as so funny!!  You know we talked  today in my small group about how we as moms too often give the message, "do as I say, not as I do."  Guess I have some work to do! Lol!

      My dd is enjoying her time in DC.  We all miss her terribly.  She's my right hand and I notice the boys seem lost sometimes, too, without her here.

      Tomorrow an old friend's baby brother is getting married.  It will be a very special time.  My baby sister will be there, too.  She graduated with this young man.  And now they are both getting married this year.  Where does the time go?

      Blessings!

      Here is a recipe for yummy, healthy, easy granola bars:

                                     1/2 cup brown sugar or sucanat     (I omit this. It's sweet enough without it for me.)

                                      2/3 cup peanut butter

                                      1/2 cup honey or agave nectar

                                      1/3 cup butter  (I use 1/2 cup butter when I add an optional ingredient.)

                                      2 tsp. vanilla

                                      1 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats

                                      1 1/2 cup brown crisp rice cereal

                                      1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

                                      1/2 cup wheat germ

                                      1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds

                               Optional ingredients:

                                      1 cup raisins

                                      1/2 cup coconut

                                      2 TBS sesame seeds

                                  Grease 13x9x2 inch baking pan and set aside

                                  Combine:  brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, butter, and vanilla set aside

                                  In another bowl combine oats, cereal, rest of the ingredients.  Stir and add in peanut

                                  butter mixture.  Press evenly into prepared pan.

                                  Bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes.  Cool.

        Enjoy!

      I am really struggling with our church's choice of summer sermon series.  My attitude is bad about it right now.  I'm hoping by blogging about it I will get some clarity. 

      Our church is doing a 12 week series of sermons based on clips from movies.  This bothers me for a number of reasons:  what happened to expository preaching?  (we haven't had that forever), my family sees enough tv outside of church, my kids want to go to church to see the movie clips each week, my family comes out of church talking about the movie -- not what they learned, I feel like the sermons are very dumbed down,  I feel like the message given is, "In order to be culturally relevant you need to delve into worldly things," I feel like they are saying the Bible isn't relevant.  And at any given time I have more reasons, I'm just so tired right now and can't come up with any more.  I asked my dh if he would mind if I visited a couple of churches this summer during this series.  He said that we will all visit together.  I'm not considering changing churches.  First of all, that would be my dh's call.  Second, I don't believe in "church-hopping" unless there is a doctrinal issue (ex. a church we went to called the Holy Spirit "she" and referred to "Mother Earth").  So, how do I respect and submit to church leadership when I am so opposed to what is going on?  Does my dh relay how we feel?  Do we leave it alone because it's just for summer (even though we feel that we are headed toward "watered-down"?  I miss the rich teaching I had in Bible Study Fellowship.  I know that BSF is possibly an answer.  I wouldn't be as bothered by the sermons if I had a serious lesson with expository teaching each week.  Maybe I should consider returning to BSF in the fall.  Also, my husband received a book on how to conduct Family Worship for his birthday.  We also have the TAG (Truth and Grace) books that Voddie Baucham's church uses for family discipleship.  So that, too, may be an answer. 

      My MIL and I have been having a good time so far.  She has been buying treats for the kids and playing games with them.  She and dd13 leave for DC on Thursday.  I'm soooo nervous about this trip.  It's so hard to let my daughter go and do.  I know she'll learn so much, especially with having American History and Government this fall.  Pray for their safety, please.

      I have a new recipe to leave tomorrow --  healthy granola bars!  Yum!!  

      I'm having a great week with my kids.  It's been so nice. 

      My dd turns 13 on Friday.  And what does she want to do for her birthday?  Most young ladies would want to hang out with their peers.  Nope.  She wants to have her birthday dinner at a family friends' house who have a little girl with the same birthday who is turning 2!  It will be very nice.  We'll have dinner and the kids will swim and peddle the paddle boat.  It should be a very relaxing time.

      My MIL arrives tomorrow afternoon.  It will be the first time I've seen her since Dad died.  I'm a little nervous, but so glad she decided to come for a visit.  I hope she has a good time and isn't lonely while she's here.  That has been a big problem for her back in Arizona.  I just hope the house is clean enough.  I have a little laundry and straightening left.  DD is going to clean the kitchen and ds10 has toilets to clean and vacuuming to do.

      So, today I took the kids to run errands with me.  They were really well behaved and fun.  Dd found three new outfits while we were out.  She really has very few clothes since she has grown so much this year.  She found 2 shirts with skirts and a dress.  And she bought a pair of cute black sandals.  All the clothes were cute, stylish, modest and within her budget.  We agreed on everything.  We were so excited to find things we both liked that we were cheering and high-fiving in the store.  There were a few ladies getting a good laugh about that, but we were excited!  (Maybe one day I'll actually learn how to post pictures and then you can see these cute outfits!)

      Well, I must be getting to bed I have a doctor's appointment in the morning......not so fun.

      My ds 3 1/2 has been trying to figure out concepts like happiness, anger, love, etc.  So this is a conversation we had this week......

      "I love you."

      "But not when I disobey?"

      "I love you.  I love you when you obey.  I love you when you disobey.  I love you all the time."

      "Oh.  I love you too."

      So when we had a chance yesterday to go wandering through Walmart, just the two of us (I'm stalking the new Chandler's assignment books) this was our conversation......

      "Mommy, I love you when you obey and I love you when you disobey.  I love you all the time."

      "I love you, too."

      The older gentleman is our aisle was so tickled by our conversation.  And I'm tickled that ds is starting to understand my love for him.  Maybe he'll be one that doesn't doubt God's love for him.....

      Ok, so maybe not exciting to everybody, but my daughter and I were thrilled when the Instructor's Guide for her Sonlight Core 100 arrived yesterday!  We've been waiting for it so she would know in what order to read her books .  As luck would have it, when it arrived I was busy and couldn't get to it right away.  My dd had a saxophone lesson, my two ds went to a friend's house, I had my small group.  Then everyone had to be picked up.  So, by the time I did that, ran by the library (have to keep those books for the reading program coming), and stopped at the store to get a few things for last night's Father's Day cookout, it was time to leave for dinner.

      We did have a nice drive to my dad and stepmom's house.  The traffic was slow so we listened to S.M. Davis talk about What to Expect From a 12 Year Old and Voddie Baucham talk about Getting Your House in Order.  The conversations were good with both older ones listing what they need to work on.  Ds, however, didn't take much time at all to lose a few privileges after that.  Well, I guess it is two steps forward, one step back.  (Sometimes I feel like it is two steps forward, three steps back.  Anybody else feel like that?)

      Dinner was quite a spread and everyone had lots of left overs to split and take home.  (I love that!)  We played Dutch Blitz with Auntie Brooke and everyone played Mexican Train Dominoes.  It's so nice to be able to have multigenerational family game nights.  We hugged and kissed and cuddled baby Madeline all evening.  She's is such a cutie!  Have a mentioned how much I love being a Godmother?  Well, the kids behaved so well we lost track of time and didn't get home until 12:30am.  And that is when I tried to go through the Instructor's Guide.  Big mistake!  I couldn't focus at all, so at around 2am I went to bed really not accomplishing anything. 

      The boys let me sleep in this morning.  After breakfast and a shower, I did some filing, made a grocery list, and took the boys shopping with me.  Dd stayed home to work on her Algebra 2 tests.  We went to three stores and stayed in budget (I couldn't believe it) with a little money left for Father's Day treats for dh tomorrow.  I made a fruit salad and eggs and pancakes for dinner.  Ds3 1/2 and I read for a while this evening.  And, finally, after he went to bed at 9pm, I tackled the Instructor's Guide which is now ready for use.

      Only 6 days until I have a teenager!!  I can't wait!

      Today is one of my favorite days of the summer, when we all go sign up for our library's summer reading program.  Even my little guy is signed up for the program this year!  The prizes for the adult program are Border's gift cards.  What home educating mom wouldn't love that?  Dd was in the Top Ten for the kids' program last year, but she hasn't decided if she's doing that again or moving up to the Adult program.  I guess if the rain continues, we'll be getting a lot of reading time.

      I also started reading the book for my summer small group -- The Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo.  I've only read the first chapter so far, but I've received good reminders about having a God-centered family vs. a child-centered family.  We are always striving for that, but I think I get worn down from constant pressure and forget to stand my firm and loving ground.  I'll keep you posted about the study.

      Well, I'm back from the ICHE conference, safe and sound.  We had a very good time.  I went with a few girlfriends while dh held down the fort.  We had two newbies with us and it was a delight to show them the ropes!  I went for all three days and I'm tired.  It is a lot of information to take in and I don't exactly sleep well at hotels.  Of course, we stayed up way too late talking and laughing.

       I bought several things for next year and looked at things for future consideration.  I came home with Explode the Code A, B, and C for my ds 3 1/2.  I also bought him some Bob books and a writing tablet.  I also picked up a lapbook catalog since that is so popular with my friends' kids.

       I bought the new First Language Lessons book to remediate grammar with ds10.  I also bought Sequential Spelling to try.  And I'm giving him Book 4 from the Kingdom Series by Chuck Black.  I already have Saxon 65 and Sonlight Core 3/4 for next year.  He'll be doing a creation class at our co-op next fall for his science, so I still need to buy those books.

       I came home with Saxon Advanced Math for dd almost 13 (with the Dive cd).  I also picked up the Apologia Anatomy book and ordered the Sonlight Core 100 IG to go with the core I bought used.  She'll be doing Spanish 2, which I don't need to buy anything for --  which is nice.  And I'll have to buy her BJU government book in July.  I picked up a book for her called Do Hard Things.

      I met a fellow blogger at the conference, Jen, who was the Rosetta Stone Rep.  Her sweet daughter was there, too.  ( I should have taken a picture.)  You can find her at www.jeneralities.com .  The Tapestry of Grace table also had a fellow blogger, Peakmore Academy, right here on HSB.  We're everywhere!!

      Well, I'm off to bed 'cuz I keep yawning..........

      I had a remarkably productive day considering how tired I was.  I did several loads of laundry, read my Bible, updated both checkbooks, did some banking, mailed a couple of bills, did some grocery shopping, made dinner and bread, and took a friend's teenager out for a walk at the mall.  I also found a few things for school next year on our homeschool loop -- used, for a good price.  Most of them are really extras, but for a few dollars I was able to "treat us".  I also spent a couple of hours reading to my kids from The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  They kept saying, "One more chapter, PLEASE!!"  So I kept reading.  My ds even gave up evening electronics privileges to hear more of the story!  In our house, that's a HUGE deal!    Oh, and I managed time for a short nap, too.  (I love quiet time.) 

      I'd better return to my laundry since I'm supposed to be leaving for ICHE tomorrow morning.  I hope to see many of you there!!

    So, I finally figured out why I keep disappearing from time to time.  When life is too overwhelming to process, and my sinful side is showing, I disappear for a while.  It gives me time to collect myself and to reset my focus.  I have still been reading blogs, so I don't feel out-of-the-loop.  But, I have needed time to reconnect with God while asking for answers to all kinds of questions.  Of course, I don't have all the answers yet, but I am walking with God instead of hoping to have my way.  It is a much better feeling than where I have been, so why do I keep going off on my own?  Sin nature, I guess.

     Well, our school year is over and we are transitioning to summer.  Or at least I think we're headed to summer.  Illinois still hasn't proven that warm weather is here to stay.  My kids will be reading and practicing music this summer.  Dd (almost 13!) is playing saxophone in a summer jazz band and preparing for fall flute IMEA junior auditions.  She will also do a one week volleyball camp at our church.  She can't wait for me to get her Core 100 Instructor's Guide (I will order it next week) so she can begin reading her new books.  Ds (almost 11) will continue piano lessons, finish reading the Kingdom's Series, and has already begun on his Core 3/4 readers (and we've started the read alouds) for next year.  He will probably do two weeks of basketball camp at church.  Ds 3 1/2 is fully potty trained and has begun reading three letter words!  We are starting on the Bob books.  He likes to kick the soccer ball around with me and wants to learn how to bat this summer.

     I am looking forward to this year's ICHE conference this weekend.  I hope to see some of you there.  I will be in Transcript Boot Camp and shopping at the Rainbow Resource table on Thursday.  I am hoping to be recharged and rest a little.  This spring was a little too hectic for my liking.  I am also going to try a couple of workshops on writing with high schoolers.  We haven't done enough writing and find it to be a painful process in our house.  I haven't found a program or direction that I truly like.  Anybody out there have a favorite curriculum or method that works??  I'm sure I'll have a great time hanging with like-minded Christian moms and dads.  Dh is letting me stay at the conference with some girlfriends.  It is such a gift. 

      Well, I'll be sure to update as life happens.  Have a blessed day!!!

You know when your phone rings and it is later than you normally receive calls?  It makes you a jump a little when the phone rings and you are impatiently waiting for the caller id to tell you who it is.  Then your husband answers and you're waiting for a clue in the conversation as to who is calling.  Then you hear it.  "So what hospital is she in?"  was my clue.  It was my SIL calling to say that my dear MIL had a heart attack.  It really bothers us that she lives across the country, by herself, away from all of her DC.  And it bothers me that she had the heart attack alone, called 911 alone, and waited for the ambulance alone.  All of my family is within a days drive.  Most of my family is 1-5 hours away.  She is 30 hours of driving away. And I miss her.  I don't think she intends on leaving her home to move in with a child.  So what do we do?  I dread all the late night phone calls to come. And my poor DH is a wreck.  He is very close to his mom.  If you think of it, pray for her.  And for us as we try to help in what ever way she wants us to.

Blessings!!