We recently were finally able to get together with our precious friends, The Hall Family, -- well, a portion of the family.  We had a great time catching up and are reminded how very sweet our friendship is.  God is so good to bless us with so many wonderful friends.

Mark enjoying  some time in the pool:

The group gathered to pose for a quick picture before we had to leave. 

We've been close friends with this family since Mark was born.  It's so great to reconnect.  The children can't wait to do it again.

I recv'd this today from HSLDA e-lert service:

November 20, 2009

Senate Will Vote on Health Care Bill Creating
Home Visitation Programs--Urgent Calls Needed!

The U.S. Senate will vote at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 21, on whether
to proceed regarding H.R. 3590.  If 60 senators vote for cloture,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will then substitute his 2,074-page
bill, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act," in
place of H.R. 3590.  This bill will become a shell for the Senate's
version of health care reform, which it will debate and may ultimately
approve.

Majority Leader Reid's bill, the "Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act," is the fifth of six health care bills created by
leaders in Congress that has included federal funding for new home
visitation programs.

While HSLDA does not normally urge its members to act on legislation
relating to health reform, we see the "Patient Protection and
Affordable Health Care Act" as a serious threat to parental rights.
This $848 billion bill calls for home visitation programs which would
empower government officials to teach parents how to raise their own
children.  Although these programs will not be mandatory, parents may
feel pressured to participate, allowing the federal government
unprecedented access into private homes and involvement in early
education. To read more on how "The Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act" threatens your right as a parent to raise your
children as you see fit, please see our preliminary analysis on the
bill at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7260 .

ACTION REQUESTED

Please call your senators today and urge them to vote against cloture
on "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" in H.R. 3590.  You
do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can use some
or all of the following message:

"I am opposed to 'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,'
substituted in H.R. 3590 because Section 2951 creates home
visitation/early education programs through grants to the states.  
Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child-rearing
decisions for their children. Please vote no on cloture."

You can reach your two U.S. senators by calling the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Or find contact information for your
senators by using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at
http://www.hslda.org/toolbox .

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith, Esq.
President, HSLDA

All my children are a bit prone to careless mistakes in their school work, but Kendra won the prize yesterday for the most extreme absent-minded error  to date.

I'd just started to grade her math drill when I noticed she'd gotten the first question on the page wrong.  Not the frist math problem, but rather the frist question on the page; the blank marked, "Name______________".   

I would have understood if she'd forgotten to fill it in, but she answered--incorrectly.  In hasty Kendra-scrawl, she'd written, "Kaira."  

She was surprised and bemused at herself when I pointed it out.  The only explanation she could think of was, "Well, it is a timed test, so I was in a hurry."  She must have been hurried indeed to have forgotten her name!

I'll occasionally say the wrong name, but this is the first time one of the children has mistakenly called herself by a sibling name! 

Throughout the day I've been sneaking up on her and giving a pop quiz, "Quick, what's your name?"   She usually even gets it right--at least when she can stop giggling long enough to answer.

(Click here to view collage larger)

Our fall soccer season has come to an end.  We had another wonderful season with some good life lessons along the way. 

The girls had a great end to their season.  They won the championship.  It was even better because Brooks was their coach.

Here's the team giving high 5 after a goal:

We had an amazing goalie, Hannah. 

Here's the whole team with their championship trophies:

And my girls --

Bekah was feeling really good and had asked Brooks if she could play.  He told her that he would put her in toward the end of the game.  She can run and play but she is supposed to avoid falling.  Not too long into the game, one of our players got hurt so Bekah went in and played the whole game.  She was out of shape from no activity since the end of August but she did a great job and the girls really enjoyed playing the final game of the season together. 

Mark had a great last game.  Here he is with his buddy, Jackson:

And Mark and Brooks:

Sam's team almost made it to the championship game.  They lost in a shoot out in Friday night's game.  Sam's coach said a small little something about each player as he gave the trophy.  When the coach gave Sam his trophy he said "Sam I can play any position (last name)" Here is Sam receiving his trophy:

We have a couple of months of no soccer.  Sam will play indoor winter soccer and that begins in January. 

Kaira was a very excited princess when the big day finally arrived.  We were were joined by Lady Beverly, Sir Richard, the Bowman James, Lady Lorelle, the beautiful princess Kaitlyn, and the delightful jester Sirhc!  The games were underway when the Royal executioner showed up, escorting a servant girl he had found fleeing the Manor of Lord S and Lady K. 

The servant girl threw herself to the ground and begged the princess for mercy, and the executioner inquired what should be done with the servant, who was no doubt an accomplice in helping the Lord and Lady escape.  Kaira looked upon the groveling servant girl in mercy and answered the executioner emphatically, "Let her have fun!" 

And so, have fun we did.  The games included a quest for the grail, tests of archery, musical chairs, and tiara and shield making.  James the Bowman provided a demonstration of his skill, putting arrows through our bales with such force that we found broken shafts the next day!  The Lady Lorelle even brought along her pet draglet, whom Kaira took to immediately. 

Kaira's cousins attempted to present her with her very own prince, (who had journeyed all the way from Prague) but alas, her mischievous cousin, the wee jester Sirhc had enchanted the poor fellow and turned the Prague Prince into a Frog Prince.  The counter enchantment required she recite "Prairie Frog Fairy Prince" seven times in succession before kissing him three times.  (Seven plus three adding up to ten--her age, of course!)  Poor Kaira failed to recite it properly each time, and he remained amphibious.  Fortunately the fellow seems content to remain a pet.  (She's too young for a real prince anyway, so I'm secretly relieved.)

"Kenneth O'Laughlan" read the Fools Prayer, and the wee jester Sirhc did a Sirhcus act for us!  We feasted on shish kabob and raspberry cream filled cake. 

I should have required a few guests stand still for a quick photo op.  I didn't manage to capture my niece and nephew's beautiful costumes as fully as I'd like, and somehow the Lady Beverly managed to avoid the camera lens.  I also neglected to capture my own wee knights, Sir Keegan and Sir Kieran before they shed their armor.  (And, I was behind the camera instead of in front of it.  Which is all very good and well.)

A good time was had by all!  Huzzah!

Edited to add clarification regarding one of the couples pictured: Two separate bloggy friends emailed convinced that I was mistaken in declaring myself absent from the photos.  Drawing my attention to the upper left of the collage, they pointed out that I was right there, next to my husband, Ken.     

In the interest of autonomy, I should explain that the lovely lady in that photo isn't me, but rather my sister.  Likewise the gentleman beside her isn't my husband but her own--Ken's younger brother.    They are a cute couple, and especially since they are younger than their aging, older siblings, the confusion is considered a compliment.  (Shhh... please just don't tell "the sibs" you mistook them for their Froggy northern relations....) 

After mailing out the invitations, Kaira was delighted to see her courtiers respond.  Here are a couple of the more interesting replies:

To the Attention of Princess Kaira,

It is my grievous duty to bring a matter of utmost importance to your attention. Reliable sources have informed me that the party invitees of (Lastname) Manor are planning to be late for the festivities. Such blatant disrespect for the royal Princess needs to be dealt with quickly and harshly to keep order in the kindgdom.  Therefore, on the appointed date, I will personally apprehend the culprits and bring them in haste for you to make a ruling on their punishment. I pray this will not cause too much disruption in the roayl festivities.

Signed in my own hand

X

His Majesty's Royal Executioner

And a little later, from her Aunt: