My first born is home, safe and sound! Joel arrived back in Seattle at around 10:30 this morning. It was so great to see my baby (shh...don't tell him I called him that!). He was only gone a week, and it really did go by pretty fast, but I'm a worrier, so...I worried. It's what I do, and I do it well! I also tried very hard not to think of him being 35,000 feet in the air. If you've ever checked a flight's status online, you may know that some airlines now have maps to go along with the actual time of take-off and the ETA (estimated arrival time). You can see exactly where the flight is, usually with a delay of about 10 minutes. That's great -- I like that feature. But American (or maybe it's Alaska Air) also tells you exactly how high that particular plane is, as well. No -- I don't want to know that my child is almost 6 miles above the planet. Kind of gives me the willies! But Joel and the rest of the group were in God's hands this past week, and He can take better care of my son than I can, even at 35,000 feet.

Here are some pictures from his trip (they're cell phone pictures, so they may not be the best quality). The first one is a shot of the 9th Ward, where the house they worked on is located. They stayed with a ministry down there (can't remember the name of it at present), but I'm not sure if it was in the same area:

The following shows the huge pile of debris they took out of the house:

Joel's glimpse of himself in a security mirror made an interesting picture:

And that's it. He does have a few other fun shots he took of himself and a few friends, but I'll let Joel be the first to post those elsewhere. I'm hoping someone else on the team got a good shot of the group, or some more pictures of Joel. If so, I'll grab them and post them as soon as I can.

Joel is still in New Orleans, and as they're back to working on the same house as last week, he took a moment to send me a picture from his cell phone. This is the infamous hole that he fell through a few days ago. I was momentarily stymied by the rectangular shape, until my other son told me it was because they'd had to cut the floor to get Joel out (his leg, anyway). Huh...funny how that little detail wasn't given during his conversation with me. What is it with these silly boys (and husbands) who think we weak women need to be spared certain details? Sheesh, compared with all the other things my teenagers tell me...

Needless, to say, I'm glad he's fine. He's got some angels watching over him.

Yesterday was their "fun day," when they got to visit the French Quarter, eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, and spend more money than they budgeted for. My poor son is learning a lesson in finances. I won't say how much he has left, but he'll be eating off the dollar menu today and tomorrow, should they need to stop for food (the church they're staying with is feeding them most meals). Thankfully, his flight home leaves early Wednesday morning and he can eat lunch at home.

Speaking of flights, I read online today that Alaska Airlines had cancelled dozens of them today because of the Kasatochi volcano that erupted Thursday in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. I hadn't even heard of it until today, but I think I'll do some research on it tonight. It's not exactly next door, but it is north of us in the Pacific "Ring of Fire." Mount St. Helens, of course, is our state's very own semi-active volcano (which is now sleeping again), and Mt.Rainier is the looming giant that could wake up anytime (or so we're told). Needless to say, we get concerned when any somewhat-nearby volcanos decide to act rowdy.

So far, Joel's trip to New Orleans has been a little eventful -- for him. On their first work day, he stepped on five nails, one of which punctured his foot (he can still see the hole it left). I told him that if he was going to get an infection, he would have gotten it by now. Apparently, the tetanus shot he got two years ago is doing its job.

On Friday, while ripping up flooring, he and a friend noticed some rotten floor boards. She warned him not to step on them. He did, and down he went -- one leg through the floor, the rest of him still above it. He's okay, with just some scrapes on his leg and a big bruise on his ego. (He prefaced this news to me by saying, "Now, Mom, I need to tell you something, but let me start by saying I'm fine...". It reminded me of a call I got from someone my kids were visiting a couple years ago. She started the call by saying, "Sally? Do you have health insurance?" Joel had gotten hurt that day, too.)

Today when he called (Saturday), he informed me that the lock I'd put on his luggage was missing by the time they arrived in New Orleans, along with the Oreo cookies he'd packed. It seems the TSA doesn't like Goldfish crackers, as they were left untouched in his suitcase. This kind of thing could make me mad. Instead, I just hope that whoever ate Joel's Oreos had them stuck in their teeth whenever they smiled. And that the cookies went straight to their hips.

The community barbeque went well, with about 100 in attendance. It wasn't as big as last year, but still a good number.

Well...talk about homeschooling anyway. Here is a web site that came to my notice lately. At our recent homeschool support meeting, Lorrie Flem of TEACH Magazine spoke and told about a family -- Greg and Pam Berthume and their kids -- who desperately needs the financial support of their homeschooling friends (that would be all of us!). I know Lorrie lives in my area, but I'm not sure where the Berthumes live (though the trees in the background of some of the pictures look mighty familiar). I wasn't able to attend the meeting and hear her speak about them personally, but did receive the web site link from our local HSA (Homeschool Support Association) email group. 

Pam has struggled with physical difficulties for years, apparently, and by the end of the day not too long ago found herself paralyzed from the waist down and partially paralyzed from the waist up due to her MS.

We are not financially able to give anything right now (though I hope to in the future), as we have our own medical bills we're still trying to catch up on, but I realized I could help this way -- by sharing the web site.

Lorrie and other friends of the Berthumes have put together some gifts to give to those who donate. That's all very nice, but if I were able to give, I would want to do it just for the sake of the joy I would get from helping Greg and Pam. I do understand why they put the gift packages together, though -- unfortunately we live in a world where some people need a little push!

If you would like to visit the web site and read more about this great family, please click on the link above. If you can donate, wonderful! Whether you're able to donate or not, do remember to pray for them.

And please forward their web site to everyone you know. Thanks!

I am writing more articles for my website and need your input. Homeschooling Anyway is a site devoted to encouraging homeschoolers to keep chugging along, to put one foot in front of the other, when they would rather give up. Have you "homeschooled anyway"? I think we all have at one point or another.

That said, I need your story. If you can put it "in a nutshell," that would be best, but if you feel you need to write something longer, I'll take a look at that, too. I can't pay you for your submission, but will give honorable mention to you (with first name and state, or whatever you prefer) and will even include a link back to your blog and/or website. It's win/win for both of us, and for those who will read and be touched by your story.

Possible topics include homeschooling through loss, financial hardships, divorce, adoption and/or foster care, and serious illness. This list obviously isn't conclusive, as your individual story is like no one else's.

I would like to hear from homeschooled students, too, who've kept their studies up in spite of a difficulty their family was facing or they had to personally confront (my daughter will be writing something for this, too).

You can post your story here or email it to me by clicking the "E-mail Me" link to the right (you may have to scroll down).

I'm still trying to decide if stories will just be quoted from or will receive their own section on the website. I guess it will depend on how many submissions I receive.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Thank you!

http://www.homeschoolinganyway.com

http://www.familyshopper.blogspot.com (Enter your cute kid in a $25,000 scholarship contest!)

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